Wayne Gray wants to make it a grey day for Albion, months after helping them to the Second Division title.

The speedy striker joined the Seagulls on loan from Wimbledon near the end of last season when Bobby Zamora was ruled out by injury.

He scored a valuable goal on his debut at Colchester and made three more appearances before returning to the Dons to fight for a first team place with a year left on his contract.

Gray, 21, has been used as a substitute in all three matches so far. He said: "I'd love an opportunity to start on Saturday to get my foot in the door. I'm just waiting for that break. Hopefully this will be the season for me, but I have got to be patient.

"Last season was frustrating for me. I have been at Wimbledon since the age of 11, but Terry Burton didn't use me at all. Everyone was buzzing when I came down here and I was just glad to be given the opportunity to play.

"I knew a few of them from before, like Bobby Zamora, and I got on well with all the boys. I suppose it will be strange in a way playing against them. It will be nice to see them, although obviously I would like my team to win!"

Gray may have to settle for a place on the bench again. Adam Nowland is likely to partner captain Neil Shipperley after scoring Wimbledon's first goal of the season in last Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Watford.

A long-term knee injury suffered by Eire international David Connolly, last season's leading marksman, in a friendly at Swindon has eased Gray up the forward pecking order.

England under-19 prospect Lionel Morgan is another casualty with cruciate knee ligament damage, but Gareth Ainsworth is back with Wimbledon after a miserable two years in the wake of a big money move from Port Vale. Ainsworth, now a free agent, played in the reserves this week.

The Dons were hoping to sign trialist Christophe Kinet to solve a headache on the left side of midfield, but he has re-joined Millwall.

Albion have a small, relatively inexperienced squad and Wimbledon's Sompting-based boss Stuart Murdoch said: "We are very similar. At the moment we are working with 19 players.

"After that it's the under-19s and under-17s. It's going back to what it was, the kids are going to get a chance earlier on.

"We finished ninth last season and we started in similar vein then. We have got quality players and we have under-achieved in the three games so far."

That is perhaps not surprising, giving all the unrest caused by the club's controversial decision to move to Milton Keynes. The Wimbledon players fear their cars will be damaged if they drive to Selhurst Park, so they will travel by bus.

Albion fans will make up a huge majority of what is bound to be another miniscule crowd tomorrow.

Murdoch said: "Anybody who has been to a reserve game on a Premier League ground will understand what it's like. I would probably have preferred it to be at Withdean at this stage."

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