Sami Hyypia has been backed to turn Albion around by his derby rival Eddie Howe.

The Bournemouth boss watched Albion lose 2-0 at Spurs in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday, 24 hours after steering his side to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 home win against West Brom.

Bournemouth go into tomorrow's South Coast derby in Dorset (5.15pm) in fourth, while Albion are 21st after ten league games without a win.

Howe does not expect the Seagulls' struggles to continue under Hyypia.

He told the Bournemouth Daily Echo: "My thoughts on Brighton in pre-season and now are pretty similar.

"I think they are a good side with a philosophy and a way of playing that they have not deviated from over the past few years, and in some senses they have looked to expand on that.

"They have got good players and have been very difficult to beat of late, although they have not got the wins they would have wanted.

“They are very stubborn and I think they will turn it round and have a good season in the end."

Albion are not the only strugglers facing a tough away assignment. They will drop into the relegation zone before the Bournemouth game if Bolton win at Norwich tonight or Birmingham win at Wolves in Gary Rowett's first game in charge in the early kick-off tomorrow.

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