Roberto De Zerbi says Robert Sanchez is not currently part of Brighton’s first-team plans because the goalkeeper “wanted it this way”.
Sanchez was a surprise absentee from Albion’s matchday squad for Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League win at Arsenal and will not be involved in Thursday’s game at Newcastle.
The 25-year-old Spain international lost his starting role to Jason Steele in early March, with his future at the Amex Stadium now shrouded in uncertainty.
“With Robert, we spoke before the Arsenal game and we decided together the best solution was to stay home,” said Seagulls head coach De Zerbi.
“He decides everything. Robert decides and at the moment it’s like this. He wanted it this way, not me, not the club.”
Sanchez has been restricted to FA Cup appearances during the past three months, aside from playing in the 2-1 victory at Chelsea on April 15 when Steele was injured.
Meanwhile, De Zerbi confirmed Brighton are on the verge of completing a free transfer deal for 27-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud, who is out of contract in the summer.
“I know very well Dahoud but he’s not official at the moment,” said the Italian.
“He’s not official yet and we will speak about him later, in the next press conference.”
After a reporter said “it sounds like he’s coming”, De Zerbi replied: “Yes, because we have no secret and I like him and I would like to work with him.”
De Zerbi is eager to bolster his squad as he braces himself for some big-name departures.
Yet he is not completely resigned to losing the likes of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, contrary to reports following the weekend win at Emirates Stadium.
“I didn’t say it like this,” he said. “I said it can be the possibility to lose some big players, like Caicedo maybe, Mac Allister, (Kaoru) Mitoma, I don’t know.
“But we are Brighton and I know the policy of my club and we have to be ready to bring in other good players with the right characteristics.”
Sixth-placed Albion require just two more wins from their remaining four fixtures to secure Europa League qualification following the stunning success over Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.
De Zerbi is balancing injury problems ahead of the long trip to St James’ Park.
He admits selection issues are causing him to lose sleep, with Joel Veltman, Adam Webster, Solly March, Tariq Lamptey, Adam Lallana, Jakub Moder and Jeremy Sarmiento remaining on the lengthy injury list.
“We can’t lose any more players for the last four games,” he said.
“We can’t take any risks and we start (with the intention) to win the game tomorrow but we have to think we have four games in 12 days.
“I’m losing sleep to decide the best first XI.”
The Seagulls received widespread plaudits for their weekend performance in north London as they emphatically bounced back from being thrashed 5-1 by relegation-threatened Everton.
De Zerbi urged his players to set aside the elation of that result and focus on future challenges and the chance to make history by claiming a European spot.
“We have to be ready to forget the last game and start with a clean head,” he said.
“We are fighting for a historic target and if we want to reach the historic target we have to make historic results.
“This year we won two times against Chelsea, we won 3-0 against Liverpool, we won 3-0 in Emirates Stadium.
“We are winning incredible games but to reach the incredible target you have to win incredible games.
“We can decide our destiny and our future but we know the way is still difficult.”
Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos
Aston Villa were stunned by Olympiacos as they suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Europa Conference League.
On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.
Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.
In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.
M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.
Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.
Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.
Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.
Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.
Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.
Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.
The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.
Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.
Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches
Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.
After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.
However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.
Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key.
"I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."
Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact.
"When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."
Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.
"I definitely think we should've won," he said.
"I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Duncan McGuire
Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.
Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists).
It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.
The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).
Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 49.3%
FC Cincinnati – 23.6%
Draw – 27.1%
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