"We will have to suffer" - Roberto De Zerbi lays out plan for dealing with Ivan Toney

De Zerbi’s Albion side travel to West London in search of their first win under the Italian’s leadership, in his third game in charge of the Seagulls.

Bees striker Toney has been in good form so far this season, scoring six goals in nine league games, earning a call-up to the England national team for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany.

Despite Toney’s strong start to the campaign, De Zerbi is confident his team can deal with the 26-year-old attacker.

De Zerbi said: “We are able to defend. We have Dunk, Webster and Veltman, they are big and great players. We have to defend as an 11 and attack as an 11, I don’t want to put more responsibility on Dunk or Webster, because the first defender has to be Welbeck and the first attacker has to be Dunk.”

Brighton will be facing a out-of-form Brentford side tonight, having only won once in the league since their historic 4-0 thrashing of Manchester Untied on August 18.

Thomas Frank’s side are also coming off their heaviest-ever Premier League defeat, losing 5-1 to Newcastle at St James Park last Saturday (October 9).

Despite Brentford’s recent dip, De Zerbi believes Albion will have to ‘suffer’ against Frank’s men in order to gain the three points.

He said: “Brentford is a good team. We will have to suffer, they have a good style of play, second balls and long balls, but we can play our football and they will have to suffer as well, our skills and ability, our players, our style of play and I think the last result is not fair and we have the possibility to win the next game.

"They are a good team, they can play with five defenders or four. The last game against Newcastle, they played with five defenders, but they can play with three attackers. But we are ready to play against every style.”

Brentford v Brighton kicks off at 8pm tonight (October 14) at the Brentford Community Stadium and can be seen on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.