Brighton vs Cardiff: The stakes are high for both teams in the fight to avoid Premier League relegation
It's a must-win game for Cardiff while Brighton can barely afford another shattering defeat at the Amex
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Your support makes all the difference.While the majority of eyes are glued to the title race and the battle for Champions League spots, the scramble to avoid relegation from the Premier League is nearly done and dusted.
Huddersfield and Fulham have already been condemned to Championship returns next season after short stays in the top flight, and it looked as though Cardiff City wouldn’t be far behind following another blow on Saturday at Burnley.
But Brighton’s wretched recent run of form, which hit a new low on Saturday with a humiliating 5-0 defeat at home by Bournemouth, means it isn’t an exaggeration to call Tuesday’s clash between the two teams something of a relegation decider.
For Neil Warnock and Cardiff, it is simply do or die. Sitting in 18th, five points behind Brighton having played a game more, a defeat would almost certainly signal the end of the road for the Bluebirds.
Yet Warnock remains defiant, and even said his team can draw inspiration from Tiger Woods’s win at The Masters on Sunday.
“We just have to look at the golf and at what Tiger has done – amazing,” exclaimed Warnock at his pre-match press conference on Monday.
“Nobody gave him a chance either, he has been written off that many times and so have we. I thought we had to beat Burnley and Brighton if I am honest, so we are already one down.
“But this is an opportunity to give ourselves a chance till the end of the season. We have to grab that.”
Despite staring at a potential touchline ban after branding Premier League officials “the worst in the world”, Warnock confirmed he will contest the charge at some point this week.
“I’ve pleaded not guilty to the charges and I expect to have a hearing sometime this week.
“But it can’t come early because we’ve got a game Tuesday and I’ve got a funeral on Wednesday up in Chesterfield.”
A Cardiff win at the Amex on Tuesday would close the gap to Brighton to two points, and is a game which effectively represents a last-chance saloon for Warnock and his squad.
Meanwhile, three defeats on the trot for Brighton leaves them hovering above the drop zone in 17th, on 33 points. Chris Hughton’s side are by no means safe, and confidence hit rock-bottom during Saturday’s pelting by Bournemouth – their worse ever Premier League defeat.
Hughton didn’t pull any punches when asked where Saturday’s performance ranked this season, also stating that he forced the squad to re-watch the game on Sunday.
“It was probably our worst performance of the season but this is football,” said Hughton.
“We had a meeting yesterday, went through the game and the goals that we conceded. There isn’t one player in that changing room that wouldn’t have gone through a bad defeat, a bad performance, and what it’s always about is how you respond to that.”
Hughton admitted that the Seagulls have been dragged into the dogfight, but has backed his team to turn up when required on Tuesday.
“The fact we didn’t get the result we wanted on Saturday, it becomes an even bigger game.
“This is not unfamiliar territory, we are a battling club, and we are a club that’s new to this division that are fighting with the qualities and rigours of this division.
“I expect very much a reaction from our players.”
Brighton will be without the suspended Anthony Knockaert on Tuesday following his straight red card for a reckless tackle on Bournemouth’s Adam Smith on Saturday, but Pacal Gross and Solly March are back in contention following short-term injuries.
Meanwhile, Cardiff have no new injury concerns, with Sol Bamba and Callum Paterson both out for the rest of the season.
A game which may go under the radar on Champions League quarter-final night, it is simply a must-win for Cardiff; and a dare-not-lose for Brighton.
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