Sussex

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton's 2-0 triumph over Burnley in January was their only win in 13 league matches between 30 November and 21 February, and offered little more than a brief relief amid a worrying run of form.

But Friday's 2-1 win against the same opponents carried far greater weight and purpose as it kept the Seagulls firmly in contention for a place in Europe next season.

They have now won five of their last six matches and, more importantly, did not let their momentum drop after three weeks without a game in the international break, following a 2-1 win against reigning champions Liverpool.

With the congested nature of the table and confirmation of the Premier League having at least five teams in the Champions League next season, Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler will fancy his chances of guiding the club to only their second continental campaign.

He was forced to watch this game from the stands as he began a two-match touchline ban for accumulating six yellow cards this term.

But his side still delivered a performance that reflected the German manager's influence - playing with discipline, pressing high up the pitch and making the possession count.

Dutch defender Mats Wieffer, who only returned from a toe injury at the end of February, proved to be an unlikely hero, scoring his first league goals since a 1-1 draw at West Ham back on 21 December 2024.

Staying within reach of the top six has been quite an emphatic turnaround for Hurzeler and Brighton as they have found form at the right time.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Burnley's performance

What did you make of Brighton's display?

Come back on Sunday for a selection of your replies

Image source, BBC Sport

Burnley boss Scott Parkers makes four changes from a 3-1 defeat by Burnley before the international break.

Lesley Ugochukwu, Marcus Edwards, Hjalmar Ekdal and Florentino Luis all start ahead of Hannibal Mejbri, Kyle Walker, Lyle Foster and suspended Josh Laurent.

Burnley XI: Dubravka, Hartman, Esteve, Ugochukwu, Edwards, Anthony, Humphreys, Florentino, Ekdal, Flemming, Ward-Prowse

Subs: Weiss, Walker, Worrall, Larsen, Foster, Tchaouna, Pires, Broja, Tresor

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler, who will watch this game from the stands, has made two changes from the 2-1 win against Liverpool on 21 March.

Lewis Dunk is suspended, so Olivier Boscagli takes his place in the defence while Yasin Ayari comes in for James Milner.

Brighton XI: Verbruggen, Van Hecke, Minteh, Hinshelwood, Welbeck, Boscagli, Kadioglu, Gomez, Ayari, Wieffer, Gross

Subs: Steele, Julio, March, Rutter, Baleba, Kostoulas, Mitoma, De Cuyper, Veltman

Image source, BBC Sport

Brighton are another team who had hit a bit of form when the season paused.

After going through a sticky patch under Fabian Hurzeler, they have won four of their past five games - and I can see them winning this one too.

Burnley are always competitive, and you can see them digging in again at home, but that approach has not translated into many positive results.

As I've said for a while now, they are going down. It is more about what happens next season and whether they stick with manager Scott Parker to try to get them back up. Their fans don't appear to be convinced by him.

Sutton's prediction: 0-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

There are four games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Arsenal v Bournemouth (12:30)

• Brentford v Everton (15:00) - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Burnley v Brighton (15:00) - Listen on Sports Extra 2

• Liverpool v Fulham (17:30) - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times BST

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Brentford v Everton" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Liverpool v Fulham".

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

Brighton can give their European chances a major boost on Saturday, as they face Burnley at Turf Moor (15:00 BST) in the Premier League.

The Seagulls have bounced back well in recent weeks after a tough start to the calendar year. Any slender concerns around relegation have been banished by a run of four wins in five games, including an impressive 2-1 win against Liverpool last time out. They go into the weekend in 10th, just three points off the top seven.

As for Burnley, they are 10 points from safety with seven matches to play. It would take a remarkable turnaround in form for Scott Parker's side to pull themselves back into contention to stay up.

Burnley battling the inevitable

After a run of three draws and a win in all competitions in January, there was a small sense of Burnley building momentum. But their subsequent failure to kick on means relegation is almost certain at this stage.

Parker has been unable to find a formula that works at either end of the pitch this season. Up top, they have occasionally clicked into gear - albeit they have had the fewest shots (excluding blocked efforts) in the Premier League this season - but at the back they've consistently leaked goals.

Their total of 61 goals conceded is the highest of any team going into the weekend fixtures and in terms of style, Brighton do not appear to be an ideal match up.

The Seagulls rank first for high turnovers and only Tottenham Hotspur have faced more high turnovers than Burnley this season.

Still, in the past this fixture has been tight. Seven of the 13 Premier League meetings between Burnley and Brighton have been drawn, with both sides winning three. But at this stage, it feels like only wins will do for the Clarets.

Brighton bounce back

Losses to Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in February felt like they could have been the beginning of the end for Fabian Hurzeler at Brighton, with supporters unhappy and the team toiling. But they have recovered superbly.

A 2-0 win at Brentford sparked a major turnaround in fortunes, and such is the congested nature of the table that the Seagulls are suddenly well in the mix for a European place.

The team have definitely tightened up in that time and have relied on the scoring exploits of Danny Welbeck to give them an edge. His brace against Liverpool took him to 12 goals for the season, one behind Glenn Murray's Premier League record for Brighton of 13.

Welbeck is also enjoying one of the most prolific seasons for a player of his age in Premier League history.

Brighton have also relied on a veteran in midfield. James Milner started his first game of the calendar year in the narrow loss to Villa and has been in the XI for all four of the wins across the past five games; he missed the only defeat in that run, against Arsenal.

While there has naturally been a lot of focus on Milner recently breaking the Premier League appearance record, he can still have an impact on games too and can still mix it physically as a 40-year-old.

In the first three of those starts he covered 11.63 km against Brentford, 11.4 km against Nottingham Forest and 11.94 km against Sunderland, the fourth, third and second highest in each fixture respectively.

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Burnley at Turf Moor (kick-off 15:00 BST).

You can listen to his comments by pressing play above or here on BBC Sounds

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Fabian Hurzeler and Lewis Dunk will serve out suspensions over the next few games, but there are "a lot of other leaders who can solve that gap on and off the pitch". He explained: "My assistant team have stepped in before and done an incredible job. We also have really good options to replace Lewis [Dunk]. I'm quite confident the whole team is strong enough to handle this well."

• In terms of injury news, there is nothing to report. Jack Hinshelwood is fit, despite pulling out of the recent England Under-21 camp.

• Danny Welbeck is feeling "very relaxed, very focused and very sharp" following the three-week break. The 35-year-old "seems to be in a very good place" heading into the home straight of the season.

• Adam Webster is "doing really well" in his recovery from a serious ACL knee injury picked up during a pre-season training camp back in July 2025. He is currently in rehabilitation alongside team-mate Stefanos Tzimas.

• He explained: "When there's a long road ahead, there are certain moments when you can feel lonely or depressed, so we always try to have people around them to create a good environment. I'm a big believer that when you have a positive mind, rehabilitation goes much quicker and recovery goes much better."

• The Seagulls used the international break to "reflect, analyse and switch off a little bit" before starting to prepare for the final run-in.

• On whether his side need to treat these last seven games as cup finals, he said: "We need to have that attitude. We have to play each game like it is the final game of the season now."

• He revealed that Brighton women's manager Dario Vidosic has been helping out with the men's training sessions over the past few days: "It felt like he was already part of us because he was so helpful, he was sharing his opinions, and he joined us on the pitch and in our meetings."

• On shutting down the rumours linking him to Bayer Leverkusen, he said: "It would take a lot to get me away from this place. I feel this is a long-term project which can be very successful." Hurzeler believes the club's foundation is "really strong and really good" and he is keen to "build something" with the Seagulls.

• He added: "I didn't get too emotionally involved with the criticism from the fans, I was open to it. I shared my emotions with them, they shared their emotions with me - and that has created a bond."

• Jan Paul van Hecke, who could make his 100th Premier League appearance on Saturday, is "definitely seen as a future club captain". Hurzeler believes this season the centre-back has "improved his consistency, his work out of possession, his commitment to get forward, how he defends athletic players, and how he keeps to the defensive shape".

Listen to live commentary of Burnley v Brighton on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 from 14:55 BST on Saturday afternoon.

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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