Chelsea are back in action on Tuesday night, and it's another potentially season-defining outing for Liam Rosenior's men. The Blues could have hauled themselves back into the Champions League mix had they beaten Manchester United on Saturday, but missed chances aplenty condemned them to a narrow home defeat.
That result likely means Chelsea can forget about Champions League qualification, barring a faultless run from here on out, and it also means that they need to start looking behind them. Chelsea are only goal difference ahead of Brentford and Bournemouth in seventh and eighth, and they are one point ahead of Brighton in ninth.
Defeat to Brighton on Tuesday night and some unfriendly results this weekend, when Chelsea are in FA Cup action, could mean the Blues fall out of the European spot altogether, and pressure is already mounting on Rosenior.
The Blues are on a rotten run of form, and if they do not arrest it against the Seagulls, there will be questions over whether Rosenior will keep his job until the end of the season.
Brighton's gain might be Chelsea's pain
Brighton come into this one off the back of a late draw against Tottenham, and they will now be buoyed by the return of defender and captain Lewis Dunk, who returns from suspension and a small injury.
"We know how important our skipper is for us," said Hurzeler, as reported by Sussex World.
"He was out for a few weeks. He has recovered well regarding his knee.
"We all know that he has had a really good season so far. He's a big personality. He gives me a lot.
He helps me a lot. He supports me a lot. So therefore he's fully fit. Of course we want to have him on the pitch.
"Regarding Ollie (Boscagli, who has been deputising for Dunk), he played two really good games. He showed his quality, he immediately replaced Lewis in a very impressive way. It's really great for me to have these kind of options."
Hurzeler rallies the fans
Brighton know they are going to have to finish the season in very solid form to beat one of Brentford, Bournemouth or Chelsea to a European spot, and he believes home form an the Amex Stadium atmosphere will be a key component.
“Honestly, I really missed it,” he added. I was thinking about this because, the last two home games against Arsenal and Liverpool there was just an unbelievable atmosphere, an incredible environment.
“We felt really pushed, where we felt very energized by our supporters, but also in our environment where I, I think that no one wants to enter it because it's not only that's difficult to play against us.
“On top of that, it will be difficult to play against our fans. This is something that’s been really building through the season, this connection. Hopefully we can create another creative atmosphere tomorrow because if we have this, this loud and supportive energy, we perform better.
“That's the truth. I say to the supporters, thanks for the support so far and hopefully we can have another great night tomorrow at the Amex.”
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