Brighton will be without top scorer Glenn Murray for their Championship match against Cardiff City at the Amex Stadium in Sussex tomorrow.
The Football Association rejected Murray’s appeal against his red card against Sheffield Wednesday last Friday evening.
Murray was sent off by referee Stuart Attwell for blocking a Glen Loovens shot with his hands and an independent FA panel rejected Brighton’s wrongful dismissal claim.
Former Bournemouth and Crystal Palace striker Murray, 33, will be missing from Brighton’s team in a league match for the first time this season.
He is currently the joint-third top scorer in the Championship with 15 league goals.
Tomer Hemed is the only fully fit forward Brighton have available for the match, although Sam Baldock has just returned to training and may have to play even though he is some way below 100 per cent.
Brighton welcome back captain and right-back Bruno for the match against Cardiff after he missed their win against Sheffield Wednesday at home.
His run of 72 successive Championship starts, stretching back to May 2015, was ended by a groin strain with centre-half Connor Goldstone switched to full-back as cover.
The Bluebirds will be without defender Bruno Manga, who is on his way back from the Africa Cup of Nations after Gabon were eliminated from the group stages having drawn all three of their fixtures.
Manga played the full 90 minutes in all three of Gabon’s matches.
Cardiff travel to Sussex for the rearranged fixture after the game was postponed on December 30 due to fog.
“I watched them on Friday night (v Sheffield Wednesday) and they shouldn’t have won that game, but they are fantastic as a team,” said manager Neil Warnock. “They never give in.
“They came out of that and I thought ‘That’s why they are top of the league’.
“Scraping a win when you don’t play well and enjoying the moments when you do play well is what the Championship is all about really.”
Cardiff have won all three of their Championship fixtures in 2017, keeping clean sheets against Aston Villa and Burton plus winning 3-2 at Bristol City, and are now 16th in the table.
Brighton, though, are aiming for a fifth consecutive home victory and would go top of the Championship, ahead of Newcastle, with a win.
Warnock takes his team to Brighton on Tuesday and then Reading on Saturday, but says: “I don’t worry about your Brightons and your Readings.
“And that’s because we’ll give them a good game – are you with me? The pressure’s all on those teams.
“The pressure was on us on Saturday because we had to win the game. It will be a great crowd (at Brighton) won’t it? And they’ll just expect to beat us, won’t they, really? As will Reading.
“And I’m usually lucky at Reading.”
Anthony Pilkington could be a doubt for the match against Brighton, having gone off early in the second half against Burton.
Cardiff City, possible: McGregor, Connolly, Morrison (capt), Bamba, Peltier, K Harris, Gunnarsson, Whittingham, Ralls, Hoilett, Zohore.