'It pains me' – Chris Sutton makes Ashley Barnes claim as prediction made for Norwich vs Brighton

Ex-Norwich striker Chris Sutton went against his former club as he predicted the outcome of their FA Cup clash against Brighton.

The Seagulls, who are 10th in the Premier League, travel to East Anglia for the third round tie against Johannes Hoff Thorup’s Norwich team who are 11th in the Championship.

Sutton, writing for his BBC predictions column, has been impressed with Norwich of late but feels Brighton will have too much on the day.

"What a win for Johannes Hoff Thorup's Norwich at the weekend,” wrote Sutton. “It harked back to the Daniel Farke era, with us scoring two stoppage time goals to beat Frank Lampard's Coventry.

“The guy who got them both, Amankwah Forson, has had a difficult start to his Norwich career, but he took them brilliantly. The issue my old club have, and I wrote an article about this earlier the week, external is that Ashley Barnes has gone back to Burnley, leaving Josh Sargent as their only recognised striker.

“Sargent has been injured this season and has only played 12 Championship games, which is less than half, so it is a gamble to rely on him to stay fit.

“I'd love to say Norwich will win this, but I actually think Brighton will go through. They could do with a victory too because, although they performed really well against Arsenal, they have not won for eight games. It pains me to say this, but I am going with the Seagulls to take out the Canaries.” Sutton's prediction: 0-2.

Brighton have injury issues ahead of the contest but Hurzeler is delighted to welcome back experienced defender Adam Webster following his hamstring issues. “Adam is a leader—we need him on the pitch because he communicates a lot,” said Hurzeler.

“He is a loud speaker, not only on the training pitch, also beside that. I think the young lads need this support and this help. Adam worked hard during rehab and he suffered because it was a long injury, a long time when he was out.

“But he was really impressive how he came back in a very tough game and very intense game. He showed a great performance and hopefully he continue these performances. I’m quite sure he will play against Norwich.”