Brighton & Hove Albion defender Ferdi Kadioglu has been ruled out of the club's upcoming UEFA Europa Conference League match against Getafe. Manager Fabian Hurzeler confirmed the news, stating the full-back is still feeling the effects of an injury picked up in the 2-0 defeat at Liverpool last week.
Hurzeler said it did not make sense to risk the player for the trip to Spain. Hurzeler added he is hopeful Kadioglu can recover fully in the next few days.
Hurzeler's penalty heartbreak
The manager also reflected on the painful Carabao Cup exit to Manchester City on penalties just days before the league victory, a 2-2 draw that saw Georginio Rutter and Malick Yalcouyé on the scoresheet for Brighton. Hurzeler described losing a shoot-out as the worst possible way to be defeated. He was, however, delighted with his players' immediate response at the Etihad. "We promised ourselves on Saturday we don't want the same feeling," Hurzeler said.
That victory in Manchester helped consolidate Brighton's strong league position. The Seagulls sit third in the Premier League with 19 points from nine games, having recorded six wins, one draw and two losses. They are just five points behind leaders Arsenal. Their recent form shows two wins, two draws and one loss from the last five outings, a sequence which includes the win over Crystal Palace and draws with Manchester City and FK Jablonec. Striker C. Kostoulas leads the team's scoring charts this season with three goals. The team has scored 24 goals while conceding only seven.
Getafe's Europa Conference League form
Thursday's opponents, Getafe, enter the match with mixed results. Their last outing was a 3-1 home win over Sevilla, but that followed a 5-2 home defeat to FC Lugano in this competition. The match at the Coliseum kicks off at 20:00 local time as part of the Europa Conference League's League Stage. Brighton's focus will then quickly turn to domestic matters and a Premier League home fixture against Brentford on November 8. Following the trip to Spain, the Seagulls' next match is indeed that Premier League encounter with Brentford at the American Express Stadium, where they will face a side currently sixth in the table.
