Brighton can move second in the Premier League table if they beat Crystal Palace on Sunday, turning a rivalry match into a chance to change the top end of the standings.
The game comes on a day with four Premier League matches, three of them at 14:00 BST, before Nottingham Forest v Arsenal at 16:30. Radio 5 Live will carry live commentaries from all of Sunday's games, with updates from around the grounds, so the Brighton Vs Crystal Palace meeting will be followed closely as the table picture shifts in real time.
That is why the position Brighton find themselves in matters so much. A win would lift them into second, and that kind of movement this early in the season gives the result immediate weight beyond the rivalry itself. The match is part of a crowded Sunday programme, but Brighton are the side with the clearest reward on offer if they do the job.
Gary Bennett's view of the wider picture was blunt. He said the table does not look healthy, called the Brighton game the worst one his side played and said the others were better performances. His point was not about style, but about errors: he said they know why they have not won those games and that making mistakes has cost them, adding that they have to cut those mistakes out if they want a result. You do not need much more than that to understand the mood around a game like this. The league table can look inviting one minute and unforgiving the next.
There is still one thing the fixture does not yet tell anyone: whether Brighton will actually take the chance. The headline possibility is simple enough — win and they rise to second — but the match still has to be played, and the final table picture will depend on how Sunday's other games unfold as well. For now, Brighton Vs Crystal Palace is the one that could redraw the top of the Premier League before the day is over.
