Brighton Head Coach, Fabian Hürzeler expects Crawley to pose a “challenge” for his team in their Carabao Cup tie.
Hürzeler’s Seagulls tonight (27 August) host Crawley at the AMEX Stadium in their second round tie of this season’s Carabao Cup.
“This is a cup where you can win something and in life it’s always about winning, especially in football. So that’s why I’m really excited about this competition, and we will take it seriously.”
Brighton though will first need to beat Crawley in their first tie of the competition – having received a bye in the first round, whilst Crawley saw off Swindon 4-2 in a thriller to reach this stage.
Hürzeler has therefore urged his players to not underestimate this tie as he praised Crawley and their manager, Scott Lindsey who led them to promotion last season via League Two Play-Offs.
“They have a great idea of playing and they are a very good opponent. They always try to build up from the back. I love the ideas from their coach. It’s very enjoyable to watch their team playing and that’s why we know it’s a challenge and we try to go for it.
“There will be the expectation that you will win so it’s different to the Premier League to a certain extent.
“I expect always that my team does everything to win so in terms of this mindset nothing changes. But we know that Crawley is a good team with good players so it will be a challenge for us.”
Hürzeler also confirmed that he could rotate his squad with some academy players in contention, but expects them to approach this match like a Premier League fixture.
“Of course, there might be chances for other players to start and to play. But we will prepare like a Premier League game.”
“In terms of the team there will be rotation, and of course there will also be young players. But on Saturday there were also a lot of young players.
“We always try to improve young players, especially from the academy to help them make the next step, because the step from the academy to the first team is always big.”
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