City to face £14m strike ace Locadia

BRIGHTON’S record signing is set to be unleashed against Coventry City in Saturday’s big FA Cup fifth round David versus Goliath tie at the Amex Stadium.

Dutch striker Jurgen Locadia is set to make his debut against the Sky Blues as Albion go into the game with both barrels firing with Leonardo Ulloa also expected to be handed his first start since rejoining the Seagulls on loan from Leicester City.

Locadia has been recovering from a hamstring injury sustained before his £14 million capture in the January transfer window from PSV Eindhoven, where he scored nine goals in 15 games in the Dutch top flight.

The 24-year-old, who can also play on the wing, appeared in the matchday squad for the first time as an unused substitute in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Stoke in the Premier League.

Asked if Locadia will feature in the last 16 against Mark Robins’s League Two underdogs, Albion boss Chris Hughton told The Argus: “At this moment yes, that would be my thinking.

“He has been out for about six weeks. He trained certainly enough to be on the bench at Stoke. But also Glenn Murray at the moment is in good form and it’s good to have those options.”

Ulloa, meanwhile, who helped Leicester to the Premier League title two seasons ago, came off the bench for Murray for the third time in succession in the last 20 minutes at Stoke and needs game time, having been restricted to brief substitute appearances for the Foxes for most of the season.

Hughton will once again use the FA Cup to make widespread changes, as did Swansea when they blew away City’s League Two promotion rivals Notts County 8-1 in the fourth round replay at the Liberty Stadium.

Hughton said: “It’s not a distraction. We’re delighted to be in the Cup. We’ve got a very competitive squad at the moment. Our bench is probably as strong as it’s been and it’s a really good opportunity to use the squad. It’s a competition we definitely want to go through in. We will need that competitiveness right the way through to the end of the season.”

Coventry have sold out their allocation of over 4,500 seats for the tie.