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Match Preview for Brighton v Nottingham Forest
Nuno Espirito Santo is hoping his Nottingham Forest side can take another important step in what has been a wonderful season when they visit Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-finals tomorrow.
Forest were expected to struggle this season but, instead, Nuno has them sitting in third place in the Premier League and on course to qualify for the Champions League.
Their next focus is to advance to their first FA Cup semi-final since 1991.
Nuno said: “As a group and as a club we have managed to change many things. We’ve broken records that have stood for 30, 40 years.
“Suddenly we have another chance to break another; this is how we think.
“We think about how can we play, how can we compete against a very good side in Brighton. This is what we’re thinking about.
“Of course everybody should enjoy it, but our job is to play the game, focus, compete; I repeat this word because it means a lot. We have to compete for every ball in every minute.
“This game is a new one so we’re asking how well can we prepare for what will be a huge game? We want to go as far as possible in the FA Cup; we love this competition and our fans love it.”
Our match winners so far in the FA Cup… 💫 pic.twitter.com/cYDBhabTWt
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) March 28, 2025
The last time the teams met was last month with Forest running out 7-0 winners at the City Ground.
It was a bleak day for the Seagulls and boss Fabian Hurzeler was not keen to revisit it again in his pre-match press conference.
The German said: “I won’t discuss it. The players took a lot of ownership and a lot of responsibility and they said we have to go back to the things that made us strong and things that make us strong are working together, showing intensity and this belief that we can beat every team in the league.”
Brighton have responded well to that setback, winning four and drawing one of their subsequent five league matches.
They also progressed to the last eight of the FA Cup thanks to wins over Chelsea and Newcastle.
They will hope to reach their second FA Cup final in three years.
Team News for Brighton v Nottingham Forest
Forest are without top scorer Chris Wood, who scored a hat-trick in the 7-0 win, after he sustained a hip injury on international duty with New Zealand.
Brighton have Lewis Dunk and Matt O’Riley available while Hurzeler was confident both Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma returned unscathed from stints with their national teams.
🅰️nthony Elanga. pic.twitter.com/ohoMHiWcLn
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) March 27, 2025
Predicted line-ups for Brighton v Nottingham Forest
Brighton: Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Baleba, Gomez, Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma, Welbeck
Nottingham Forest: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Dominguez, Anderson, Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Awoniyi
How to watch Brighton v Nottingham Forest: TV and online stream
Brighton v Nottingham Forest kicks off at 5.15pm on Saturday and can be watched on BBC1.
It can be streamed on BBC iPlayer and the BBC website.
Stats for Brighton v Nottingham Forest
- Forest are unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions
- Brighton are unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions
- Brighton’s 7-0 hammering at Forest last month was their heaviest defeat in 67 years
Prediction for Brighton v Nottingham Forest
Tough one to call but Brighton will have added motivation after the events of last month.
That coupled with the absence of Wood may just tip the scales in their favour.
We fancy the Seagulls to edge it but don’t be surprised if it requires extra-time and perhaps even penalties to separate the sides.
Prediction: Brighton 2-1 Nottingham Forest