Michael Owen makes 'solid' Brighton prediction against Crystal Palace and selects Patrick Vieira's Wilfried Zaha replacement

Former England and Liverpool striker Michael Owen anticipates a tight contest as old rivals Brighton and Crystal Palace go at it at the Amex Stadium tonight
Michael Owen believes Brighton are more solid than PalaceMichael Owen believes Brighton are more solid than Palace
Michael Owen believes Brighton are more solid than Palace

Brighton will be without their skipper Lewis Dunk who just couldn't quite recover in time from a knee injury and Enock Mwepu, who injured his hamstring in the 2-1 FA Cup win at West Brom last time out.

On the plus side, Adam Webster will return from his calf injury, while Neal Maupay, who netted a last gasp leveller in the 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park earlier this season, will look to add to his seven Premier League goals so far this campaign.

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Maupay is in top form at the moment and he could also be joined in the attack by Danny Welbeck, who is easing his way back from hamstring surgery.

Owen predicts a feisty encounter but believes Graham Potter's team could just about come out on top - despite missing their star midfielder Yves Bissouma who is at the AFCON with Mali.

"It’s a brilliant Premier League weekend and this is a good place to start," wrote Owen in his Bet Victor blog"There’s a good rivalry between these two sides and I’d expect to see that shown on the pitch. Brighton have seven points from nine, which includes that draw at Stamford Bridge. After an impressive win at Goodison in their last PL game, they’ll be full of confidence.

"Palace have shown some spirit in their last couple of games. They almost came back from three down against West Ham in the league and recovered well to beat Millwall at The Den, that’s never easy.

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"With Zaha away playing for his country, others will need to step up and it looks like Michael Olise could be the man. He was superb against Millwall in the Cup last week.

"This is a hard one to call. Brighton are a little bit more solid, and I think that will be the difference. 2-1 Brighton."