Brighton to host AS Roma in pre-season friendly at American Express Stadium on August 8
Brighton & Hove Albion will face AS Roma in a pre-season friendly at the American Express Stadium in Brighton and Hove, England on Saturday, August 8, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 pm IST.
The match opens Brighton’s pre-season programme at home against the Italian side after the Seagulls finished strongly last season to clinch a direct spot in the UEFA Conference League. German gaffer Fabian Hürzeler, the former St Pauli manager who took charge in 2024, is set to lead Brighton into the new campaign. Brighton completed a notable incoming transfer for Vuskovic from Spurs and saw departures including Danny Welbeck, Diego Coppola and Carl Rushworth.
UEFA Champions League football returns to the Stadio Olimpico after Roma finished third last season, and the club has added players such as Konstantinos Koulierakis, Gianluca Mancini and Santiago Castro while Paulo Dybala signed a contract extension. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini is set to continue in charge and, after taking over the reins, clocked an average of 1.8 points per game. After a 4-1 shocking defeat to Cardiff, they got the better of Newport by the same scoreline.
Recent form listed by the preview shows Brighton (in all competitions): L-L-W-L-W, and Roma (in all competitions): W-L-D-W-W. Brighton are yet to play any game in the pre-season, according to the match preview. The fixture is presented as part of both clubs’ warm-up schedules ahead of the coming season.
Defensive recruitment and player profiles feature in the preview: Spurs and Brighton completed a swap involving Jan Paul van Hecke and Luka Vuskovic, and the Croatian teenage sensation earned minutes at the FIFA World Cup 2026, starting against England in the opener. The preview describes the 6 foot 3 inches tall defender as an aerial presence in both boxes and notes that his debut against Roma will be highly anticipated.
Roma’s attack will include Donyell Malen, described in the preview as a Wieringen-born Dutch striker who previously played for Aston Villa, Dortmund and PSV Eindhoven before moving to Roma last season and making an instant impact. The article states Malen featured for the Netherlands at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and registered 17 goal contributions in just 20 games last season.
Injury and selection notes from the preview list Stefanos Tzimas, Kaoru Mitoma and Zadok Yohanna as set to miss Brighton’s next game due to injury concerns, while Roma’s Wesley and midfielder Nicolo Pisilli are injured and new signing Nahuel Molina will be unavailable. The expected lineups published in the preview are: Brighton — Jason Steele (GK); Mats Wieffer, Lewis Dunk, Luka Vušković, Olivier Boscagli; Pascal Groß, Yasin Ayari; Yankuba Minteh, Jack Hinshelwood, Ibrahim Osman; Charalampos Kostoulas. Roma — Mile Svilar (GK); Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka, Mario Hermoso; Mattia Mannini, Neil El Aynaoui, Bryan Cristante, Devyne Rensch; Paulo Dybala, Matías Soulé; Donyell Malen.
The preview issues a prediction of Brighton & Hove Albion 1-3 AS Roma and specifically expects Malen to score a brace. The match will be played at the American Express Stadium in East Sussex on Saturday, August 8, at 7:30 pm IST and can be streamed on Roma TV+.
