#EuropaLeague

Roberto De Zerbi is lifting his squad following a 6-1 defeat and ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash at Marseille. Albion have time to prepare before flying to the south of France on Wednesday. But there is plenty to do after they were torn apart by, principally, an Ollie Watkins treble. Head coach De Zerbi expects to see “the true Brighton” in France and said of the Villa game: “It may be one of the most important days of our lives and our time in Brighton because the level is changing. “We wanted to reach this level and now we can play, we can compete for the history of our club, for the history of ourself. “We are playing for different things than our football. “If everyone thinks like this, you can find the mental energy to play.” De Zerbi took off Danny Welbeck, Evan Ferguson and Pervis Estupinan at half-time but not with thoughts on Marseille. He said: “In my head, there was only Aston Villa. I wanted to change something in that part of the pitch because I thought to change the game.”