Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler refused to discuss his side’s 7-0 hammering by Nottingham Forest last month ahead of their FA Cup re-match tomorrow.
The Seagulls were handed an embarrassing defeat at the City Ground but have bounced back superbly, 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.
Asked this morning about the previous encounter with Forest, which represented Brighton’s worst defeat in 67 years, the German was quick to shut the question down.
He 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.”
📰 Table Of Contents
We won’t make the game ‘artificially big’
Brighton reached the semi-finals two years ago before losing to eventual winners Manchester United on a penalty shoot-out after a goalless draw.
And while Hurzeler knows the significance of a potential return to Wembley, he is refusing to hype the game up to unmanageable levels.
"We know it's a big game, a big opportunity – but that's every other game too." 💬 Watch Fabian's #BHANFO preview. ⤵️ @MonsterEnergy 📲
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) March 28, 2025
He added: “Of course we feel it but for me, it’s important we don’t make it artificially big. Of course, it’s an important game but it’s like all the other games as well because in all the games we can improve ourselves, in all the games we have to go to the limit.
“I am not trying to make it artificially big, we all know it’s a big opportunity, a big chance but it’s like all the other games as well.”
Dunk back for Seagulls
The teams go in with contrasting team news.
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.
