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FK Jablonec vs Brighton & Hove Albion: UEFA Conference League Preview, Matchday 2 2026
FK Jablonec vs Brighton & Hove Albion: UEFA Conference League Preview, Matchday 2 2026
Brighton & Hove Albion travel to FK Jablonec for their second UEFA Conference League fixture

Brighton & Hove Albion will be looking to resume their great form on Thursday night when they travel to FK Jablonec for their second UEFA Conference League fixture of the campaign.

The Seagulls continued their impressive form with an emphatic win over local rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday, whilst FK Jablonec fell to a narrow defeat against Viktoria Plzen in the Czech First League.

The Czech side came through three qualifying rounds to progress to the Group Phase of the competition for the first time since 2021/22, including a penalty shoot-out win over Rangers in the play-off.

And they started the Group Phase with a narrow defeat away at Freiburg on Matchday 1. Antonin Rusek cancelled out Vincenzo Grifo’s opener, before an own goal put the German side back ahead. Maximilian Eggestein made it 3-1, before substitute Garang Kuol scored a consolation late on for the visitors.

Brighton, meanwhile, marked the start of only their second ever European campaign with a rampant 4-0 win over Lithuanian side Kauno Zalgiris.

Giorginio Rutter scored twice, with Jack Hinshelwood and Matt O’Reilly completing the scoring on a memorable night at the AMEX Stadium.

Team News

Jablonec are set to assess Lamin Jawo ahead of kick off, whilst Krystof Karban and Kevin-Prince Milla remain long-term absentees.

Brighton have a number of injury concerns ahead of their trip to Czechia, and just like they did against Kauno Zalgiris are expected to make a number of changes from the weekend’s 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace.

Pascal Struijk and Femi Azeez remain doubts, whilst Mats Wieffer, Yankuba Minteh, Zadok Yohanna, Kaoru Mitoma, Stefanos Tzimas and Evan Ferguson continue to be sidelined.

Predicted Line-Ups

FK Jablonec

Hanus; Cedidla, Tekijaski, Pavlovic, Slama; Okeke, Sedlacek; Polidar, Alioum, Tchanturishvili; Rusek

Brighton & Hove Albion

Verbruggen; Costinha, Svoboda, Dunk, Boscagli; Gross, O’Riley; Gomez, Hinshelwood, Osman; Rutter

Key Players

Right-back Martin Cedidla has scored a team-high four goals this term, and the 24-year-old will look to add to that tally as Jablonec look to defy the odds and cause an upset.

Since joining from fellow Czech side Zlin in the summer of 2024, Cedidla has been a regular at the back for Jablonec, having made 75 appearances in the league since his arrival. His form has also seen him flirt with a call up to the Czech national squad, where he has made 7 appearances since his first cap in 2019 as a teenager.

Brighton will be looking for Giorginio Rutter to produce similar form to that which saw him named Player of the Match in the Matchday 1 win over Kauno Zalgiris. The French forward scored twice, as well as providing an assist in the 4-0 win.

Having been reduced to substitute appearances in the Premier League since returning from injury, Rutter assisted Brighton’s second goal in the 2-0 win at Sunderland, but only played 19 minutes of Sunday’s victory over Palace.

Match Details

Where is the game being played?

The game is taking place at Stadion Strelnice, the home ground of FK Jablonec.

What time is kick-off?

The game is scheduled for 5.45pm BST on Thursday 22 October 2026.

How can I watch?

The match is being broadcast live on TNT Sports.

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