Brighton dealt suspension blow ahead of Premier League clash v Fulham as both clubs involved in FA Cup drama

Fulham and Brighton and Hove Albion were both involved in two thrilling FA Cup encounters on Sunday afternoon as the Premier League rivals now prepare to clash this coming weekend.

Fulham defeated Manchester United on penalties at Old Trafford to set up a quarter final against London rivals Crystal Palace. The Eagles won 3-1 against Millwall but the result was marred by a serious injury to Jean-Philippe Mateta. Brighton beat Newcastle United 2-1 at St James’ Park with former Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck scoring the winner in extra-time.

The game took a dramatic twist as Anthony Gordon was sent off for violent conduct but Newcastle were not a man down for long as Seagulls defender Tariq Lamptey was dismissed soon after for a second yellow card.

Lamptey facing one-game ban

The right-back is now set to miss the Premier League game with Fulham on Saturday afternoon as red card suspensions are not competition specific. The right-back was booked in the first half for a late tackle on Gordon. Lamptey mis-controlled a pass from Jan Paul van Hecke late in normal time and when attempting to win the ball back, he was again late as he clattered into Jacob Murphy, leaving referee Anthony Taylor with little choice but to dismiss the defender.

Saturday’s fixture looks set to be a key game in the race for Europe with just one point between Fulham in ninth and Brighton in eighth. Fulham are just five points outside the top four as they sit level on points with Aston Villa in 10th. The Premier League is poised to earn a fifth Champions League spot this term, meaning Europa League and Europa Conference League spots will be achieved further down the table as a result.

Fulham face Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur in their final two games before the international break. Winning the FA Cup is an alternate route into Europe, with Manchester City the current favourites to win the competition.

Silva reacts to FA Cup win

Bernd Leno was the hero for Fulham as he saved two penalties at Old Trafford after Calvin Bassey and Bruno Fernandes had both scored in normal time. Reflecting on Fulham’s victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, Marco Silva said: “We wanted to play in the quarter-final and I really believe – and it’s my feeling – that we deserve to be there.

“From the first day of the competition (we thought we had an opportunity) – it’s not just now because we won against Man United. And the next one probably is going to be harder than this one. It’s going to be Palace at home but it’s always the quarters-finals and you can never think that because you are home it’s going to be different because it’s really tough to win football matches at this level.

“But we want (it) and from the first day I said – and I’ve been saying – that we are really serious in the competition. It’s a big competition for us. We don’t know what’s going to happen, what we are going to achieve, or where is going to be the last stage for us, but we want to think (we will exit) in the last day of the competition. If you are going to be able and show the quality to do it, we never know but each game we are going to do in that way.”