De Zerbi said: "Ansu and Lamptey are both injured. We have lost them for a long time I think.

"But the focus is on the players who can play tomorrow. We will have to compete. I don't know if we will win, but we will fight to win the game for sure."

De Zerbi insists his side are good enough to compete at the same level in both Europe and domestically.

The Seagulls sit three points above their Greek opponents in Group B and only need a draw to qualify for the knockout phase, while Brighton sealed their first league win since September in Nottingham at the weekend.

"We are good enough to compete in Europa League and Premier League. We are reaching the best level of mentality.

"We showed great mentality against Nottingham Forest. We spent 90 minutes with a lot of difficulty but the win was nice for our fans.

"I think we are improving and adapting to play in big stadiums in Europe, but these are normal things in football. I think we are in one of the best moments from when the season started. We can fight and play on our level."

Brighton are undefeated in Europe away from home this term, after a 2-2 draw with Marseille and 2-0 win over Ajax, and De Zerbi insists his side will not underestimate Athens.

He said: "We know the difficulty of the game. AEK are a very good opponent, they have a clear plan of the games and to win we have to show our best, play our best, with the best mentality and attitude.

"The target is the same in the Premier League or Europa League we have to play our best, it's a challenge for us."