Brighton & Hove Albion

If you are just joining us and missed Fabian Hurzeler's news conference, then here are the top lines from the Brighton boss:

• Hurzeler and key defender Lewis Dunk will both serve suspensions on Saturday, but the Seagulls manager says the team has plenty of other leaders who can solve problems on and off the pitch
• He said that Brighton had a clean bill of health, with no injuries to any of his players
• On links with a switch to Bayer Leverkusen, Hurzeler said "it will take a lot to take me away from this place".
• Finally, Hurzeler said that Danny Welbeck is "focusing on the controllables", after not being picked in England manager Thomas Tuchel's latest squad.

Tom: 100% agree with John (11:22) that inheriting a great team is no guarantee. Did Moyes do it with Ferguson’s team who only won the title the previous season? Did Emery do it with Wenger’s team? Give the guy credit. He’s earned some time.

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Harry: I understand what John @11:22 is saying. But the predictions mean nothing against what happened, City and Arsenal fell off and still only ended up around 10 points behind Liverpool. A Liverpool team built by Klopp and unchanged by Slot. If City and Arsenal performed as predicted, he'd get credit.

Brighton & Hove Albion

A final word from Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, on Danny Welbeck, who was once again omitted from Thomas Tuchel's latest England squad: "He seems to be in a very good place. He is very relaxed, very focussed, very sharp and so therefore, he knows he can control certain things. He can control his performance on the pitch and how he behaves off the pitch. He is focussing on these controllables and then we can see what happens in the next few weeks."

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Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler on Burnley: "Burnley is a team fighting for relegation but they proved in the last weeks that they can win against every team in the league, that they have individual qualities, that they show really good togetherness, that they showed, especially in the last games, really good performances so you can't underestimate any team in this league.

"It is a game where we have to reach our limits, our standards, our highest levels if you want to beat them."

On Burnley manager Scott Parker: "I'm not surprised that he is still in [as Burnley boss], because when you look at how they play, it is very good and it will be a challenge for us."

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Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler on team news: "Everyone will be fine for tomorrow."

On his connection with the club amid rumours of him going to Bayer Leverkusen: "I feel there is a connection, especially with the [Brighton] fans, a connection that we started building through the highs and lows and now we want a strong finish to the season.

"It will take a lot to take me away from this place. I feel this is a long term project here, a project where we can be very successful. We need to keep working hard but the main thing for me is how is the relationship with the players, with the team, staff, owners and supporters.

"I feel really settled and I feel the foundations is really strong and really good that we can build something. We need to earn the right to compete with the clubs in a higher level. Over the last two years, we have built something strong."

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler on Jan Paul van Hecke's possible 100th Premier League appearance this weekend: "His improvement is impressive, he's already played at a high level last season. This season he made another step, he improved in his consistency.

"He is very good in keeping a structure in a defensive shape. On top of that he is a great leader, he is leading by performance, he is a role model for that. He has all the characteristics inside him to be a future leader."

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Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler on his and Lewis Dunk's suspensions this weekend: "We have a other leaders who can solve it on the pitch and beside the pitch. Regarding me, we already had a situation against Brentford where my team and my staff did an incredible job.

"Regarding Lewis, of course he played unbelievably well in the last weeks but we have shown we have a lot of options to replace him. Not just options, really good options to replace him. Therefore, we are quite confident that the team are strong enough to handle these things.

"I will give them a lot of responsibility on the pitch and they have proved it in the season that they can handle it. I am confident they can manage it on and off the pitch."

Brighton & Hove Albion

And here are those quotes from Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler that we promised you.

First up, he was asked about the break between matches: "The time without games you can fulfil a lot of things, you can use the time for reflections, for switching off a little bit and then starting to prepare for the final part of the season. The time goes quickly."

On preparing for the last part of the season: "I think after a very successful period before the international break and during the international break, our players were quite successful and that is a very positive thing so they kept the positivity, they kept the confidence and belief.

"Now it is about when they return from their national teams, they come together as a group again, re-emphasising what made us strong, what we need to get back to the standards we reached before the international break. Re-emphasise what it means to play for the badge."

Brighton & Hove Albion

Opta's supercomputer has predicted that Brighton will finish the season in ninth place, one position lower than they finished the 2024-25 campaign.

According to everyone's favourite computer, the Seagulls have a 9.03% chance of making it into the Europa League next season.

Fabian Hurzeler's side have also been given a 3.26% chance of making an unlikely dart for a top five spot and Champions League football.

As it stands, the Premier League have already secured five Champions League spots. Other spots in the Europa League and Conference League will depend on how Premier League sides progress in Europe.

Scott McCarthy
We Are Brighton

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Cast your mind back 12 months to the March 2025 international break. Brighton sat one point off fifth and with a winnable home FA Cup quarter-final against Nottingham Forest to play. Tony Bloom was interviewed at the Cheltenham Festival and said April and May represented potentially the biggest two months in Albion history.

Brighton lost on penalties to Forest in their first game back in action. The next four Premier League matches resulted in three defeats and a solitary draw against soon-to-be relegated Leicester City, rescued only by two Joao Pedro penalties.

That run of form returning from a two-week break dashed European dreams and hopes of Wembley. And it is not the only time it has happened under Fabian Hurzeler.

There was a three-match winless run in the Premier League in September 2024. Two months later, Brighton beat Bournemouth after the November break but then went eight games without another victory, including six draws.

This season, two successive wins after the November break were followed by a run of one league win in 13.

For whatever reason, Hurzeler and the Albion sometimes struggle to put together results when they have lost the momentum which comes through competitive football.

The Albion can ill afford one victory from their remaining matches if Hurzeler is to secure an unlikely return to continental competition.

We've still got two more news conferences to bring you from this morning's stint including Fabian Hurzeler who has already been speaking in the last hour or so.

Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola is due shortly too and we'll bring you the best quotes from the Cherries boss as soon as we have them.

We're then into the mad rush of this afternoon where we'll hear from Pep Guardiola and Liam Rosenior among others.

We'll also have Roberto de Zerbi speaking after lunch in his first pre-match news conference as manager of Tottenham Hotspur.

First up though, one of De Zerbi's former clubs, Brighton.

Ciaran Kelly
Newcastle United reporter

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A late push for Europe would put a different complexion on a bruising domestic campaign.

But Newcastle must go on a run to do so, which they have failed to do all season.

When Anthony Elanga openly asked whether the dressing room could show they were fighting for the head coach "again, again and again", in a previous interview with BBC Sport, the forward was alluding to his side's inconsistency.

"We want to keep on fighting for him because he's helped us so much," he said.

"I'd even go as far to say he is one of the best managers I've worked for. I'm really grateful to have him as a manager and I try to take everything he says to me on board because I know it's for my benefit.

"I know he will help me so much. All the players feel the same."

Newcastle United

And that's your lot from Eddie Howe.

Lots to unpick from that one, including quite a bit of chatter around his immediate future as manager of Newcastle United..

Here are the top lines:

• Howe said he is "100% committed to the job," when asked about his future at the club before later adding the most important thing is the club and he will "put the club before anyone"
• Captain Bruno Guimaraes' return from a hamstring injury has been delayed after the midfielder contracted mumps
• Fabian Schar has also suffered an infection in his foot and will be out for "around a month" but Lewis Miley and Sandro Tonali are available
• Howe said he is "right across everything" with regard to summer transfer activity but admits there are a lot of unknowns due to European qualification
• Finally, he claimed that defender Kieran Trippier is "one of the best players" to have played under him

Newcastle United

A final word from Eddie Howe on his relationship with Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson and sporting director Ross Wilson, with the Magpies boss saying everyone at the club was "totally aligned".

Howe added: "What do I need? I just need support, good working relationships with the people around me, a feeling of being able to express myself in the best way possible so you see the best version of myself.

"If I feel that and the club feels that, they are getting the best manager that they can from myself.

"Obviously, if that's not working, for whatever reason, on both sides, then it's what's best for the football club.

"The most important thing in all of this is Newcastle United. Not me, not anyone else, and I'll always reflect that in my decision-making. I'll put the club before anyone."

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Newcastle United

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe on Kieran Trippier's departure: "I think Kieran has handled himself superbly during this period. He came to see me, we had a discussion. He had a clear vision of what he saw his future looking like and we respected that and wanted him to get the best reception and reaction for his time here.

"For me he goes down as one of the best players that's played for me, without a doubt. In my time here he has been a model of consistency. He has had that will to win and will to help us prepare the best we can.

"i think he has been outstanding on the pitch. He has been a really good leader and he deserves to go with all the plaudits. We just hope he can finish the season off on a real high."

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Newcastle United

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe on recruitment plans for the summer: "I am right across everything with regards to the summer and next season and making sure that we are as well organised as we can be. We are working really hard with Ross [Wilson - sporting director] and with David [Hopkinson - CEO] on all sides of the club - whether that is pre-season schedules, potentials during the transfer window. We just don't know at this stage how tings lie because there is a lot of unknowns with Europe etc.

"I think we will be as ready as we can be for what is ahead."

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