Match preview: Brighton vs Sheffield Wednesday

Brighton and Hove Albion will go top of the table tonight if they can beat Sheffield Wednesday in front of what will be a record crowd at the Amex.

The South Yorkshire club is bringing around 2,000 supporters to Sussex, which should see the overall gate tipping 27,000, the largest crowd in around three decades.

And the Albion fans will be hoping to roar their team to three points which would see the side sitting top of the Championship, albeit possibly temporarily.

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Gus Poyet will almost certainly stick with the same back four and goalkeeper that have so impressed recently, but the manager will have to make changes in midfield with Andrew Crofts out injured.

Returning former skipper Dean Hammond is the favourite to fill in for the Welsh international and should receive a warm welcome after he issued an apology for gestures made to the stands at Withdean after notching their for Southampton.

Hastings-born Hammond will slot in with Liam Bridcutt and Gary Dicker, although fellow new signings David Lopez and Andrea Orlandi provide Poyet with other options should he need them.

Stephen Dobbie could make his debut, although with Craig Mackail-Smith and Ashley Barnes both in good form, it will almost certainly be from the bench.

Kazenga Lua Lua is expected to keep his left wing position.

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Sheffield Wednesday having started the season well and could play Jay Bothroyd, the striker who the club recently snapped up on loan from Premier League QPR. If the one-cap wonder does figure, he can expect a frosty reception from the home fans after turning down the Seagulls to head to Yorkshire and publically dismissing the link on social networking site Twitter.

Centre back Anthony Gardner may return from a hamstring injury which has seen him miss four games whil new signing Martin Taylor is pushing for a start.

Should the Albion triumph it will be only the fourth time the Seagulls have beaten the Owls in 21 league games.

Fans should expect goals tonight. Wednesday’s matches have seen the highest number of goals of any club in their division, with nine for and eight against, while Brighton have managed more shots than any other Championship outfit and come into the game on the back of 5v1 and 3v1 wins.