Okay, so it is going to take a lot to top the dramatic Championship playoff semifinal between Watford and Leicester City on Sunday.
But let’s hope Brighton and Crystal Palace give it a darn good go down on the South Coast of England this afternoon.
The two huge rivals drew 0-0 on Friday at Selhurst Park with everything on the line in their playoff semifinal second leg, to decide who will face Watford in the Championship Playoff final at Wembley stadium later this month.
Who are the favorites you ask? This is a tricky one. Remarkably, after 97 meetings over 93 years; Brighton have won 37, Crystal Palace 36 with 24 drawn. So Brighton and Hove Albion have the edge... just.
Brighton have the home advantage. They have turned the Amex Stadium into a fortress this season -- just their second campaign in the Championship after winning the League One title in 2010-11 -- losing just three times and the Seaside club must fancy their chances.
Brighton have not lost since March 12, in the ten games since they have won five and drawn five.
Manager Gus Poyet’s Uruguayan roots emanate in the Seagulls play and their gritty midfield duo Liam Bridcutt and Dean Hammond are an engine-room to be reckoned with. Forwards Leonardo Ulloa and Will Buckley provide a big threat and could help Brighton move one step closer to their dream of reaching the English Premier League.
Meanwhile Crystal Palace are looking to reignite their wonderful early season form after they stumbled into the playoffs under Ian Holloway. The Eagles saw their goals dry up late in the season and have failed to score in their last three games against their arch rivals. Can they do so today? 39-year-old striker Kevin Phillips may be their best hope after the Championship’s top scorer with 30 goals, Glenn Murray, badly injured his knee in Friday’s semifinal first leg. A huge blow for the South London side.
However they do have Wilfred Zaha on the wing. The England international will be keen to spearhead the Eagles challenge to make it back to the EPL, despite the fact that Zaha has already been signed by Manchester United and will be at Old Trafford next season.
You can catch the game on BeIN Sport from 2:30pm ET.
What they’re saying...
Brighton
Gus Poyet: “There will not be a winner by many goals so let’s see if we can use our home advantage. This tie, anywhere in the world, is 50/50 but I would always want to play in front of my fans. Everything is there. I don’t need to motivate the players and we don’t need to motivate the fans either. It will be an amazing atmosphere and we’ll do everything we can to win.”
Liam Bridcutt: “The job is not done until we win and we know it will be hard at our place as well. We just have to go into the game with the same winning mentality and see if we can score the goals, and win the game. We are looking forward to it and are ready to go again.”
Crystal Palace
Ian Holloway: “We have to go there and they will have to watch us because we aren’t bad at counter-attacking. Obviously we will have to stop them at their own ground, but this is where the pressure happens, this is where it all starts building. It only takes one thing from us and that could upset everything. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us, we have to do better than we did at their ground last time.”
Prediction: This one really is too close to call. Extra-time and maybe even penalties beckons to separate these huge rivals. As you probably gathered, the fans don’t think much of one another and the atmosphere is sure to be electric inside the 30,000 capacity Amex. This game promises to be a great advert for English soccer’s second tier. The home side have the slight advantage and, at a push, I think Brighton will be competing with Watford for a place in the EPL.