This is the big one, folks. The battle of the birds. The Eagles vs Seagulls. The M23 derby. Or the A23 derby. Whatever you want to call it. Crystal Palace and Brighton face off for the first time this season in arguably their biggest game of the season for the fans, yet it is a 3pm kick-off on a Saturday. Sad!
Here is my combined XI of the two sides, who are having polarising campaigns after both being tipped to exceed expectations before 2022-23 got underway.
Goalkeeper: Robert Sanchez (Brighton)
Both of these sides have a Spaniard as their No. 1 goalkeeper, with one currently a mainstay in the international squad and two caps to his name, while the other has never played for their country. This hasn’t influenced my decision, I am just letting you know. In fact, the decision to choose Robert Sanchez over Vicente Guaita was a pretty easy one.
It would not surprise me if Sanchez becomes one of the next Brighton players to get a big move elsewhere, although it seems a really good time to be at the Amex Stadium.
Right-wing-back: Pascal Gross (Brighton)
This position – whether it is in a back four or a back five – is one in which Crystal Palace need to recruit, with no disrespect to Joel Ward, who has been a brilliant servant for the club. Brighton have Tariq Lamptey and Joel Veltman, yet Pascal Gross has proven himself to be a brilliant player in this position in recent weeks.
Gross has played here, there and everywhere for Brighton and may well have found his best position at the ripe age of 31.
Centre-back: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)
Marc Guehi has been a brilliant signing for Crystal Palace and the £20million they spent is looking like more of a bargain every game. Buying him was maybe a risk at the time due to his lack of top-flight experience, but the 22-year-old’s value has tripled since then and he is now a full England international with three caps to his name.
Centre-back: Lewis Dunk (Brighton)
A Brighton legend already, club captain Lewis Dunk has been ridiculously consistent for the Seagulls and is probably unfortunate to only have one England cap, especially as he has only gone from strength to strength since making his Three Lions debut in 2018.
Centre-back: Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace)
Probably better on the ball than he is defensively, Joachim Andersen has a sexy diagonal in his locker which was put on full display against Arsenal on the first night of the season.
Brighton often play with a back five, meaning…
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