Match Preview: Wembley awaits if Brighton cut down Tricky Trees

March 29, 2025March 29, 2025 WeAreBrighton.com 0 Comments

After a two week international break, clubs from the top two divisions return to action. Or, some of them do. Because it is FA Cup quarter final weekend with Brighton playing host to Nottingham Forest.

The hiatus saw much of the Albion squad head off and represent their respective nations, playing plenty of football all across the globe from 2026 World Cup qualifiers to Nations league action.

Kaoru Mitoma and Japan became the first country to seal their place at next summer’s World Cup. Dutch trio Bart Verbruggen, Jan Paul Van Hecke and Mats Wieffer played out an enthralling two legged Nations League affair which the Netherlands narrowly lost to Spain on penalties.

And Joao Pedro wore the iconic number nine shirt for Brazil, leading the line flanked by a player from Real Madrid on one side and Barcelona on the other.

Attention now though turns back to domestic matters. Brighton are only one win away from a return to Wembley Stadium for another FA Cup semi final.

Standing in their way are Forest. I don’t need to remind you what happened last time these two sides met… other than to say this is the perfect opportunity for the Seagulls to exact some revenge.

Brighton frustrate the champions

The Albion were in red hot form before the international break, winning six on the bounce in all competitions before traveling to champions Manchester City.

That run may have come to an end at the Etihad Stadium, but Brighton still secured their first ever Premier League point away at City thanks to a 2-2 draw.

It was an open game with plenty of chances coming for both sides. The Albion will probably feel aggrieved with themselves for not walking away with maximum points.

Yankuba Minteh missed an open goal and Carlos Baleba squandered a golden opportunity to make it 3-2 late in the second half.

The draw means the Seagulls remain unbeaten in their last seven games across all competitions. Incredible stuff which has filled every Brighton fan with happiness, joy and belief that we may once again go on another European tour next season.

To even be saying the Albion should have won away from home against the Premier League champions is crazy in itself.

Once upon a time, such a result was only ever considered a dream. Now it has become a reality. Will the dream of winning the FA Cup become the next reality?

Forest pile the pressure on Ipswich

Just like Brighton, Forest headed into the international break in good form. Their last outing saw a highly entertaining 4-2 win against relegation bound Ipswich Town.

The victory further cemented Forest in third spot. The stunning achievement of qualifying for the Champions League is almost within touching distance with only eight league games left to play.

Even though Forest won, the scoreline actually flattered Ipswich slightly. The Tricky Trees were by far the better team, underlined by scoring three times in just six minutes through central defender Nikola Milenkovic and a brace from Swedish superstar Anthony Elanga.

The Tractor Boys gave themselves a slight glimmer of hope when midfielder Jens Cajuste pulled one back in the 82nd minute. However, it was to no avail as Portuguese international Jota Silva made it 4-1 to Forest five minutes later.

Striker George Hirst added a second consolation for Ipswich but the winning margin should have been far greater for Forest.

Brighton v Nottingham Forest head-to-head

Brighton and Forest have come face-to-face on 43 previous occasions. The Albion lead the head-to-head, albeit only narrowly. There have been 17 Brighton wins compared to 14 for Forest with the 12 remaining games ending in draws.

The most recent meeting came just under two months at the City Ground. Moving swiftly on…

Brighton v Nottingham Forest team news

Mitoma has been declared fit by Fabian Hurzeler following some talk of an injury picked up whilst playing for Japan. What a relief!

Apologies for sounding like a broken record, but here is your weekly reminder that Igor and Ferdi Kadioglu have both been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Tariq Lamptey has a foot injury and with no return date in sight, he may have played his last game for the Albion as his contract expires in June.

Matt O’Riley and Solly March sat out the Manchester City game but are both expected to add much needed reinforcement to the squad.

Lewis Dunk has missed the last six games with a rib injury. He is reported to have made good progress over the last couple of weeks and is contention to face Forest.

Lastly, James Milner continues to regain his fitness in training with a view to a return soon. No exact date has been pencilled in for the veteran, who has not played since August.

Nuno meanwhile has almost a fully fit squad to choose from – with one very notable exception. Ex-Albion striker Chris Wood is out after picking up an injury on international duty.

Wood is having the most prolific season of his career. He also always seems to score against Brighton, including a hat-trick in that… never mind…

Nottingham Forest players to watch out for

Forest have a superb squad of players and their position in the Premier League table speaks for itself. Nuno has them playing some of the finest football in the division. Here are a couple of players who are central to that.

Anthony Elanga

Elanga has improved so much under the stewardship of Nuno since making the move to the City Ground two years ago. He operates on the left wing, where his lightning speed is his biggest. You will struggle to find a man who can beat him in a straight race.

So far this season, Elanga has netted five goals. He is though more of a provider than a finisher, as shown by his eight assists.

Elanga was heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United last summer. Forest have seriously benefitted from that transfer not materialising.

If the Albion are to progress to Wembley, the defence will have to stay switched on the entire time Elanga is on the pitch. Otherwise, they will be caught out by the Swedish speed demon!

Callum Hudson-Odoi

With the confirmed absence of striker Chris Wood, Forest will need someone else to step up alongside Anthony Elanga. One man with the potential to do that is Callum Hudson-Odoi.

The ex-Chelsea youngster has been superb during his time with Forest. Fast, agile and creative are just some of the words you can use to describe him.

Hudson-Odoi has played 26 times for the Tricky Trees in all competitions this season, bagging five goals and also chipping in with a couple of assists.

Final thoughts

This has all the makings of a classic FA Cup tie. The Amex is sold out and with no season ticket holders staying away, it will be the fullest it has been for a long time. Combined with a 5:30pm Saturday night kick off and the place should be bouncing.

Brighton will be looking to carry on from where they left off before the international window. As I mentioned earlier in this piece, many of the Albion squad took their impressive league form into the break performing admirably for their nations.

This will be a very tight and intriguing match with a few nerves thrown into the mix. Not only is at a quarter final, but it is a quarter final against opposition who put you-know-how-many goals past Brighton last time.

It represents the perfect opportunity to settle that score and extract some revenge. Wood is a massive loss for Forest and although both clubs have huge midweek games in the Premier League, at this stage in the competition resting and rotation is surely not an option.

What will be key is substitutions. We saw that in the last round at Newcastle. Both Hurzeler and Eddie Howe made changes early. Brighton had the stronger bench and that ultimately told at St James’ Park, deciding the game in favour of the visitors.

The Albion have only been to Wembley twice in 34 years. Seeing Newcastle lift the League Cup, the celebrations which followed and how much it meant to their fans was inspiring. Imagine if Brighton could achieve something similar…