MATCHDAY: De Zerbi seeks 1st win with Brighton at Brentford

Updated Oct. 13, 2022 11:36 a.m. ET

Associated Press

A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Friday:

ENGLAND

Brighton has been playing well under recently hired manager Roberto De Zerbi without getting any wins. The team will be hoping that changes on a trip to Brentford that kicks off the latest round of games in the Premier League. Under De Zerbi, who replaced Graham Potter following his move to Chelsea, Brighton has drawn 3-3 at Liverpool — outplaying Jurgen Klopp's team for spells at Anfield — and lost 1-0 at home to Tottenham, which produced a gritty defensive performance at Amex Stadium. Brighton would climb to fourth place, at least overnight, with a win against a Brentford team that is coming off heavy losses to Arsenal (3-0) and Newcastle (5-1) either side of a lackluster 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

GERMANY

After a strong start to the season, Hoffenheim's form has faded in three games without a win. A visit to relegation-threatened Schalke offers a chance to turn things around. A win for Hoffenheim would see the team from southwest Germany rise from seventh to third in the Bundesliga table ahead of teams including Bayern Munich. Schalke too needs to collect some points after losing its last three league games, including a bruising 4-0 loss at Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen last week, and dropping to 16th in the 18-team league. It won't be long until Hoffenheim and Schalke meet again — they're scheduled to play Tuesday in the second round of the German Cup.

FRANCE

Strasbourg is without strikers Ludovic Ajorque and Lebo Mothiba as it tries to secure a first win against Lille since 2018. The Alsatian club ended a nine-match winless run last week. Lille has endured an inconsistent start, failing to produce back-to back wins under coach Paulo Fonseca. Lille midfielder Angel Gomes and defender Bafodé Diakité are both suspended and will be missing the game alongside injured forward Alan Virginius. Lille is in seventh place, eight points above Strasbourg.

SPAIN

Rayo Vallecano hosts Getafe in a derby of the two modest clubs in Spain’s capital. Like last season, Andoni Iraola’s Rayo has impressed by holding Barcelona to a scoreless draw in the season opener followed by a win at Espanyol and victories over Valencia and Elche at home. The 10th-placed Rayo, however, had its worst performance of the season last round when it lost 3-1 at the recently promoted Almería. The Getafe of Quique Sánchez Flores is three points behind Rayo in 16th place after having lost two straight including a 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid last weekend.

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