Why is Crystal Palace vs Brighton classed as a rivalry? The two Premier League sides go toe-to-toe with each other on match week 18 of the 2023/24 season in one of England’s more unusual derby clashes.
The pair have faced off against each other over 100 times since they were both formed but it wasn’t until the mid-1970s that the rivalry intensified and earned the moniker, the ‘M23 derby.’
Geographically, Crystal Palace and Brighton are over 40 miles apart but until Crawley Town were promoted to the EFL in 2011, the Eagles and Seagulls were the closest professional teams to each other.
Over the years, there have been some epic encounters between the sides, often marred by crowd trouble and the rivalry really evolved when Terry Venables was appointed as Palace boss and Alan Mullery as Brighton manager in 1976.
The Crystal Palace Vs Brighton Rivalry Explained
Crystal Palace and Brighton didn’t play each other for 11 years until they met on the opening day of the 1974/75 season in the old Third Division. The warm weather saw an upsurge in spectators with a crowd of approximately 26,000, which was a lot higher than the fixture would typically generate.
Violence broke out between the two sets of fans and extra police were deployed to try and keep the peace, with Brighton running out 1-0 winners. The following season, the birth of Brighton’s nickname came about as fans sang ‘Seagulls’ to mimic or perhaps counteract Palace’s nickname of the ‘Eagles’. Two years later, it became a main stay.
An FA Cup clash between Crystal Palace and Brighton was the real catalyst to producing the rivalry in the 1976/77 season. Venables and Mullery were in charge of the clubs at this stage and the latter reacted angrily towards the Palace fans after an incident-strewn tie.
Mullery produced the ‘V’ sign to the celebrating Eagles fans (they’d won 1-0) and he blasted the referee and even threw his loose change towards the opposition, exclaiming: ‘Palace ain’t worth that.’ From then, Crystal Palace vs Brighton has always been deemed a rivalry. Both clubs enjoyed promotions in the 1970s and 1980s before renewing the derby clashes in the 2000s, with fans often coming to blows on match days.
Next up in the #PL: Palace away. ✊ pic.twitter.com/uDdy2kF6VO
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) December 20, 2023
Crystal Palace Vs Brighton Premier League H2H
Crystal Palace and Brighton have faced each other 12 times in the Premier League era, with the Eagles winning on three occasions and the Seagulls also registering three victories. Five of the six draws have all ended 1-1. Ahead of Thursday’s clash, the best UK betting sites make Roberto De Zerbi’s side the match favourites at 5/4, with the draw 5/2 and Roy Hodgson’s Palace 47/20.
The first M23 derby in the Premier League era came in November 2017, ending in a 0-0 stalemate at the AMEX Stadium in front of 29,889 spectators. Wilfried Zaha hit a brace and a James Tompkins goal gave Crystal Palace a 3-2 win over Brighton at Selhurst Park in April 2018, Glenn Murray and José Izquierdo replied for the visitors. The Seagulls exacted their revenge in December 2018, though.
Murray, Leon Balogun and Florin Andone netted in a 3-1 win on home soil, with Luka Milivojević scoring from the spot late on. Brighton’s last win against Palace at Selhurst Park came in March 2019, Murray scored again with Anthony Knockaert also getting on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win, Milivojevic replied from the spot once again.
Crystal Palace won the next two games at the Amex – 1-0 in 2020 and 2-1 in 2021 – and haven’t beaten their great rivals since. De Zerbi’s side came away with a 1-0 victory the last time they met in March 2023, Solly March scoring the decisive goal after 15 minutes.
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