Brighton are now set to have up to nine players unavailable for their FA Cup clash with Wolves.
Gary O’Neil’s side faces the Seagulls on Wednesday night in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Hosted at Molineux, both sides are looking to reach the quarter-finals of the competition.
Brighton has become a real bogey side for Wolves in recent years. The West Midlands side have only beaten the Seagulls five times in their history and suffered 6-0 and 4-1 humblings to them within the last year.
However, O’Neil has managed to pick up a really good run of form at Wolves since the end of 2023. The side has now won eight of their last 12 games, continuing with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United on the weekend.
Now, going into Wednesday night’s fixture, Wolves may stand a better chance of ending the Brighton curse as the Seagulls have now confirmed multiple stars are out of the tie.
Kauro Mitoma tops Brighton’s injury list ahead of Wolves
Brighton’s Premier League and European campaign has looked to have finally caught up with them with multiple players out injured.
The Seagulls have been without Solly March for the majority of the campaign after his injury back in October.
In recent weeks, teenager Jack Hinshelwood, veteran James Milner and 19-goal Joao Pedro have added to the list and will all be out of the Wolves tie.
Another big miss for the visitors will be Kaoru Mitoma. The Japanese international scored the opener past Wolves in their 4-1 victory back in August but didn’t play on the weekend due to a back injury.
Manager Roberto De Zerbi admitted that he will now not be back for the Wolves tie: “It’s an important problem. I think two or three months, [so] finished [for] the season,” said De Zerbi. “It’s the back injury which kept him out against Everton.”
On top of this, Evan Ferguson is unavailable after being forced off against Everton late on. Joel Veltman and forward Danny Welbeck are also doubts for the class.
Billy Gilmour is also unavailable for selection after the Scotsman picked up a red card against Everton and will now serve a three-game ban.
Big opportunity for Wolves on Wednesday night
In contrast to Brighton, Wolves only have one confirmed outage. Matheus Cunha’s injury has looked more optimistic in recent weeks, but he will not be available for the FA Cup showdown.
O’Neil has already confirmed that he will play his best possible starting XI for the tie. With Brighton suffering on the injury front, it presents a real opportunity for Wolves to progress into the quarter-finals.
Wolves are only four wins away from their first major in over 40 years. With the form they are in combined with Brighton’s issues, they will not have a better chance of reaching a quarter-final.