Albion have posted footage of the squad landing in Greece on Wednesday and some players who have recently been on the sidelines have travelled as well.

This Group B clash is played against the backdrop of a row between Great Britain and Greece over the Elgin Marbles. But Italian De Zerbi is blissfully unaware of stolen sculptures and cancelled meetings. In Italy we fight with all countries but I don’t know about this,” he laughed.

Brighton will have to show cooler heads than at Forest when captain Lewis Dunk was sent off for abusing Anthony Taylor and De Zerbi lost his marbles in his post-match celebrations. But the Italian said: “Lewis is 32 years old. I think he doesn’t need to learn or to improve his attitude or to control himself or his emotions. He made a mistake.”

De Zerbi, who claimed earlier this month that he doesn’t like “80 percent of English referees, added: “I believe in the referees. Because otherwise I can go to Italy tomorrow.”

West Ham got a warm reception at Olympiacos last month and AEK will be out if they lose tomorrow. But De Zerbi showed more diplomatic nous in the build-up than Rishi Sunak

“We know AEK Athens fans are hot and it is an honour to play in this stadium,” he said.

The Seagulls’ absentee list, including injuries and suspensions, currently stands at 12, although Lewis Dunk and Mahmoud Dahoud’s bans only apply to the Premier League after receiving red cards in the English top-flight this month.