'I don't see it' - Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton make bold Brighton vs Crystal Palace prediction

Former England and Newcastle striker Alan Shearer has been impressed with Brighton's flying start to the season.

Fabian Hurzeler's men are third in the Premier League and Shearer feels Brighton will have too much for their old rivals Crystal Palace, who are in 13th place.

Brighton are the leading scorers in the division and beaten the likes of Aston Villa, Arsenal, Coventry and Sunderland this term.

Pierre Sage’s Palace did win last time out but were unconvincing in their win against Nottingham Forest.

Alan Shearer prediction

Shearer said: "Crystal Palace got the win last week, but they could’ve been three or four down with the chances that Forest missed.

"Brighton got a great result at Sunderland and got the red card overturned, which again was a ridiculous decision anyway, but I think Brighton will have enough to beat Crystal Palace.

"They're flying, Brighton, so I expect that to continue."

Chris Sutton prediction

BBC pundit Chris Sutton - who played alongside Shearer at Blackburn - agrees

Sutton, writing on the BBC Sport website, said "I am not quite sure how Crystal Palace beat Nottingham Forest last week, because Forest had some incredible chances.

"I don't see the Eagles getting anything here, though, because Brighton are absolutely flying at the moment.

"The Seagulls showed great resilience to hold on at 1-0 with 10 men in their win against Sunderland last week and ended up scoring a second goal right at the end too.

"Again, both teams play in Europe on Thursday so they will have to find the right balance with their team selections - but I don't see it affecting Brighton any more than it will Palace." Sutton's prediction: 2-1.

Hurzeler wants first win against Palace

Brighton boss Hurzeler joined Brighton in 2024 but is yet to record a win against their fiercest rivals.

”Nothing yet,” said Hurzeler when asked what he likes about this fixture. “Because I didn't win any games so far.

“Therefore, hopefully on Sunday this, this changes, and then I can enjoy these kind of games. But overall, I always like these games because it's a derby.

“It's more emotions. It's a rivalry. It's yeah, we are against Crystal Palace and therefore I experienced these kind of games in Germany already.

“I know how important it's for the fans, for the supporters, for the whole club, and also for me, if I'm honest, and also for my players. So therefore, we try to go all in for our city. We try to go all in for the fans.”

Sage: We have to be smart

Palace boss Sage joined last summer and this is his first taste of the Brighton fixture. Sage said: “The first day I came here, the first thing they told me is that, and the last days I have read a lot of articles about the rivalry,” Sage said.

“I understand why, and you know it’s something special, and when it’s something special you have to do a special game. You have to keep in mind that this team has strengths, this team has weaknesses too.

“We have to be really smart in the way we build our way of playing and our game plan for this game, because we have to be not only in a rivalry game but in a smart game.”