Team news from Brighton | Top scorer out of Saturday's clash

Brighton's top goalscorer Joao Pedro has been ruled out of Saturday's Premier League clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (3pm UK).

The striker - eight goals to his name in the Premier League - has picked up a hamstring injury.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Brighton's first team coach Andrea Maldera said: "Joao Pedro unfortunately has an injury in the hamstring and he cannot play tomorrow. He had a scan a few days ago and he needs another one. We don’t know how many weeks away he will be out for, we don’t want to take a risk."

Better news for Brighton sees the return of Kaoru Mitoma after representing Japan at the Asia Cup. Maldera added: "Kaoru is available, sure, but Roberto (De Zerbi, manager) has asked us how he is. Kaoru has worked well but he has travelled a lot this week. I think we make the decision tonight or tomorrow morning. He is in the squad for sure, but we don’t know if he can start, we are not sure. But he is with us and is an important player."