By OkayGoal
Brighton begin their Conference League league phase at the Amex Stadium on Thursday against Kauno Žalgiris, who are making their first appearance at this stage of any UEFA competition.
The Lithuanian champions reached the league phase the long way round, losing 7-1 on aggregate to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League third qualifying round and 3-1 on aggregate to Besiktas in the Europa League play-off round. This is also Kauno’s first match against English opposition. They won the Lithuanian Cup on Sunday.
Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton are third in the Premier League on 13 points and have won their last four matches in all competitions by a combined 13-2, most recently 2-0 at Sunderland on Saturday. It is their first European campaign since reaching the last 16 of the 2023-24 Europa League, and Hürzeler has said there will definitely be changes to the side, with Crystal Palace to follow on Sunday.
Brighton vs Kauno Žalgiris – Match preview and team news
- Date: Thursday, 15 October 2026
- Kick-off: 20:00 BST
- Venue: American Express Stadium (Amex Stadium)
- Referee: Mikkel Redder (DEN), VAR Jonas Hansen (DEN)
- Last meeting: None (first meeting between the clubs)
Team news
Brighton
Pascal Struijk is out, with Hürzeler saying the club are managing him after he returned from the international break with a fitness issue. His red card at Sunderland has been overturned and he is hoped to be back for Palace. Jack Hinshelwood is in contention, with Hürzeler saying “we can expect him to return”. Evan Ferguson, Stefanos Tzimas, Kaoru Mitoma, Yankuba Minteh and Mats Wieffer remain out, and Lewis Dunk is expected to replace Struijk.
Kauno Žalgiris
No injuries or suspensions have been reported, so head coach Željko Sopić could have a full squad. Gabriel Debeljuh, who has scored once in four appearances this season, is expected to lead the attack, with Fabien Ourega also set to feature.
Form
Brighton
Brighton have won their last four matches in all competitions by a combined 13-2, including a 3-0 home win over Arsenal. They have won three of their four competitive home games this season, drawing the other. They beat Tromsø 4-0 on aggregate in the play-off round to reach the league phase.
Kauno Žalgiris
Kauno conceded five in the first leg against Dinamo Zagreb in Champions League qualifying and lost 3-0 away to Besiktas in the first leg of their Europa League play-off, which sent them into the Conference League. They are Lithuanian champions and won the domestic cup on Sunday. Their league-phase fixtures also include Brann, Lugano, Riga, Egnatia and Freiburg.
Predicted lineups
Brighton predicted XI: Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Vuskovic, Dunk, Boscagli; O’Riley, Ayari, Gross; Gomez, Kostoulas, De Cuyper
Kauno Žalgiris predicted XI: Mikelionis; Moutachy, Lekiatas, Hernandez, Iyobosa; Karashima; Ourega, Fiolic, Kalik, Ribeiro; Debeljuh
How to watch Brighton vs Kauno Žalgiris?
The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on TNT Sports 2, with streaming available via HBO Max.
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