Tromso vs Brighton

Tromso host Brighton in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off first leg on Thursday 21 August 2026, with the Romssa Arena in Tromsø set to stage a meeting between the Norwegian side and their Premier League visitors. Fabian Hürzeler’s team, beaten by Manchester City on the final day of last season, arrive with a depleted squad and the knowledge that defeat across two legs could cause problems throughout the campaign.

Team News and Injury Latest

Brighton will be without several first-team players for the trip north. Carlos Baleba is sidelined with ankle ligament damage sustained in pre-season training, while Kaoru Mitoma remains unavailable as he recovers from hamstring surgery that also ruled him out of Japan’s World Cup campaign. The most significant blow concerns Yankuba Minteh, who suffered a right leg injury during a 3-0 friendly win at home to Roma. Hürzeler has confirmed the 22-year-old winger will miss “several weeks”, with separate reports suggesting he could be absent for up to three months.

Pascal Struijk has returned to training and is closing in on a squad return, though the play-off first leg is likely to come too soon. Diego Gomez and Maxim De Cuyper, both fresh from World Cup duty with Paraguay and Belgium respectively, filled the wide roles in the final warm-up victory over Bologna and are expected to start again. Summer signing Zadok Johanna, a £21.8 million arrival from AIK, offers further depth but is still adapting to English football.

Tromso’s own squad was reshaped late in the window when Jens Hjerto-Dahl departed for Hull City before the win over Cluj, yet Jorgen Vik’s side coped comfortably. Midfielder Heine Larsen carries a goal threat, having registered seven goals and one assist in the Eliteserien this term.

Tromso Form Guide

Vik’s team enter the tie with match sharpness that Brighton cannot yet match. Tromso are third in the Eliteserien after 16 games, trailing leaders Bodo/Glimt by seven points with a game in hand, though they fell to a 3-2 defeat away to Molde on 17 August. Their Conference League campaign has been positive: a 5-0 first-leg demolition of Cluj in Romania was followed by a 2-1 home victory, sealing a 7-1 aggregate success. That passage came after a 4-1 aggregate loss to Hradec Kralove in Europa League qualifying, a tie that highlighted vulnerabilities at the back.

The Romssa Arena carries its own challenges for visiting teams. The artificial surface and a capacity of fewer than 6,700 create an intimate but demanding atmosphere. Tromso, the northernmost club to win a major Norwegian trophy, are relishing the visit of Premier League opposition.

Brighton’s Pre-Season and Tactical Gaps

Brighton concluded their unbeaten pre-season with a 1-0 win over Bologna thanks to Jack Hinshelwood’s goal, following a 4-3 victory against Strasbourg and the comprehensive Roma success. Eleven goals scored across the three friendlies point to attacking rhythm, yet the injuries to Minteh and Mitoma strip the side of genuine penetration in wide areas.

Olivier Boscagli has been the standout performer of the summer programme, pressing for more minutes in central defence after a quiet first campaign at the club. Hürzeler’s glass-half-full outlook means he views the extra strain of European football as a challenge to overcome, but the lack of a recognised Premier League-proven winger leaves Brighton reliant on converted midfielders to stretch Tromso’s back three.

Key Battle: Heine Larsen vs Brighton’s Depleted Midfield Shield

With Baleba absent and the wide forwards offering less natural defensive cover than Minteh and Mitoma would provide, Larsen’s late runs from midfield represent a clear danger. The 2025 Eliteserien campaign has shown his ability to arrive in the box unmarked — an area Tromso targeted effectively against Cluj. Brighton’s midfield must track those runs early if they are to quieten the home crowd and protect a backline still settling into the new season.

The return leg at the Amex takes place on 27 August, three days after Brighton open their Premier League campaign at home to Aston Villa. Carrying a positive result — or at the very least an away goal — back to Sussex would ease the load on a squad that cannot afford to stumble before the domestic programme has properly begun.