I’ve been really impressed with Fabian Hurzeler’s side so far this season, they sit third in the Premier League - behind only Arsenal and Manchester City - having won four of their opening six games and notably scoring 18 goals in the process.

No side has scored more goals in the Premier League than Brighton this season, with the Seagulls scoring eight of these goals across their three home games. They’ve won two of these matches, including beating Arsenal at the Amex just before the international break.

Hurzeler had the luxury of rotating more extremely for Brighton’s midweek Conference League clash, but Sage had to field a pretty similar lineup to the one that started in Lyon - where Palace lost 3-2. 

That lack of squad depth could be the point of difference between these sides, with Brighton looking really strong at home and Palace conceding 12 goals across their opening six matches of the Premier League season. 

Despite sitting third in the league, Brighton have one of the worst disciplinary records this season. The Seagulls are averaging 12.7 fouls per game, which has translated to 13 yellows and one red in just six matches.

They have landed this selection in five league outings overall, with the only failure coming in a 5-0 drubbing of Coventry. With this being a derby day fixture, it is likely to be more competitive and feisty, which makes cards a target. 

These two might not be the most obvious rivals, but recent fixtures have been intense. In fact, over 3.5 cards has landed in each of the last six head-to-head matchups between Brighton and Crystal Palace.

Jorgen Strand Larsen will be the outlet in the final third for Palace this weekend, and he will have plenty of pressure to absorb when the ball gets to his feet.

Brighton like to press aggressively in midfield in an attempt to win back the ball as quickly as possible. The striker is averaging 1.22 fouls drawn per 90 this season across all competitions, and he has been fouled in six of his seven starts overall.

Strand Larsen had an average of 0.79 fouls drawn per 90 in the previous campaign, but his role up front has been much greater so far with Jean-Philippe Mateta out injured.

Pascal Gross is likely to find duels up against Wharton and Timber in midfield, and that is a matchup to keep an eye on.

The German international is averaging 1.35 fouls per 90 across all competitions, and he has been a notable contributor to Brighton's disciplinary numbers so far. 

In the Premier League, Gross is averaging 2.0 fouls per 90 which is one of the highest figures in the squad - only behind Chema Andres. He has recorded a foul in all six starts, and multiple infringements in four of those. The midfielder has been a lot more aggressive this season, and that is likely to persist as Fabian Hurzeler's side have started so strongly.

Charalampos Kostoulas was afforded a rest midweek, but he is likely to start up front for Brighton at the weekend. The Greek international has started the season in strong form, scoring twice in five Premier League starts. He has racked up a total of 13 shots in that time, averaging 3.03 shots per 90. 

He is a constant danger in the final third, and Kostoulas is playing with confidence at the moment, which naturally makes him a target. Given how poorly Palace defended at the week, and how they conceded three times against Lyon midweek, the Brighton striker should be looking forward to this matchup.

Maxim De Cuyper has adapted well this season - he has been featuring in a slightly unfamiliar role on the left wing. The Belgian international has been given more responsibility going forward, which he has benefitted from. De Cuyper scored the opening goal of the game against Sunderland last weekend in a 2-0 win. That was his fourth goal of the campaign. 

In addition to that, De Cuyper has also provided two assists. Despite only featuring for the second-half against Zalgiris midweek, De Cuyper racked up six key passes, including two big chances created, but none of those were converted. Still, he is always looking to make things happen in the final third, and there should be chances for him to contribute against Palace again here.

Luka Vuskovic was another player afforded some rest midweek, as he only featured for the second-half. He recorded one shot which went narrowly over the bar, taking his average to 1.6 shots per 90 across all competitions this season.

Signing Vuskovic over the summer was another bit of shrewd business from the Seagulls. The centre back offers quite a lot in the final third, whether that be from a set-piece or from range. 

Of his ten shots in the Premier League this season, eight have come from set-pieces, while the other two have been from outside the box. When the space opens up, Vuskovic doesn’t hesitate to let fly, and he should be invited forward a fair few times at the Amex this weekend.

With Brighton expected to dominate play on the south coast this weekend, Quentin Timber could be in for a busy afternoon. The Dutchman has started each of the last seven matches for Palace across all competitions, averaging 1.8 fouls per 90 in that time. He has also committed multiple infringements in five of those appearances. 

With that being said, he is still yet to pick up a booking, which shows how a lot of his fouls are quite soft. He presses intensely and tries to close down space as quickly as possible, and Timber accounted for three of Palace’s 11 fouls against Nottingham Forest last weekend.

Chema Andres is another player who is one to target for fouls, and he should be directly up against Timber. The Palace man is also averaging 1.96 fouls drawn per 90. His midfield partner, Adam Wharton is not too far behind with 1.46 fouls drawn per 90, so Chema Andres draws a solid matchup here. 

The Spaniard has played four games since arriving from Stuttgart, and he is averaging 2.79 fouls per 90 as a Brighton player. He has recorded multiple infringements in all four appearances, and has been booked once. He likes to get stuck into duels in midfield, and be strong in his challenges, which makes this price stand out.

I’ve been really impressed with Fabian Hurzeler’s side so far this season, they sit third in the Premier League - behind only Arsenal and Manchester City - having won four of their opening six games and notably scoring 18 goals in the process.

No side has scored more goals in the Premier League than Brighton this season, with the Seagulls scoring eight of these goals across their three home games. They’ve won two of these matches, including beating Arsenal at the Amex just before the international break.

Hurzeler had the luxury of rotating more extremely for Brighton’s midweek Conference League clash, but Sage had to field a pretty similar lineup to the one that started in Lyon - where Palace lost 3-2. 

That lack of squad depth could be the point of difference between these sides, with Brighton looking really strong at home and Palace conceding 12 goals across their opening six matches of the Premier League season. 

Elland Road is one of the toughest places to visit in the Premier League. Leeds have the quality and ferocious home support to make this an awkward task for United, who have failed to win any of their last five matches across all competitions.

Most recently, United fell to a 2-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Carrick tried a new shape in that game, lining United up in a 4-3-3 but their press was all over the place and Atletico managed to break the deadlock inside one minute - which set the tone for the rest of the game.

Leeds also put in a pretty good account of themselves against the reigning champions away from home last time out - managing five shots on target at the Emirates, which is not a shot volume that Arteta’s side concede regularly.

Leeds avoided defeat against United in both head to head meetings between the sides last season, with this fixture finishing 1-1 thanks to a swift equaliser by Cunha after Aaronsen had opened the scoring a few minutes prior. 

I really don’t trust Celtic at the moment.

They may be top of the league in the Scottish Premiership, but that ranking is a tad deceiving when looking at their current form. Celtic have only managed to win one of their last five matches, losing the other four, most recently conceding four goals against Benfica in the Europa League.

Hearts also had a European assignment ahead of this clash as they drew 1-1 with Nordsjaelland in front of their own fans. They’ve scored in each of their last 15 matches, which lines up well with the fact that Celtic have kept just one shutout in their last five matches across all competitions.

Hearts and Celtic faced off four times last season, with Hearts managing to get on the scoresheet in all four games. They also became one of the few sides to actually win at Celtic Park over recent seasons with a 2-1 win over Celtic back in December last year.

Real Madrid made tough work of their trip to Rome during the week in the Champions League, eventually coming away 4-3 winners due to a few errors by Roma’s stand in keeper - but they were 3-1 down at one stage of that game.

Mourinho’s men have put in some solid performances so far, especially in front of their own fans in LaLiga where they’ve won all four games at the Bernabeu by an aggregate scoreline of 13-2. This represents an important game for Real Madrid too, they’re already six points behind Barcelona in the LaLiga title race and can’t afford for that gap to get any bigger.

Sevilla are yet to lose on the road in LaLiga, but have lost each of their last three games ahead of this clash - including conceding three goals and an xG of 1.82 to Levante in their most recent assignment, which highlights the vulnerabilities that Madrid can look to expose here.