Roberto De Zerbi says January transfer business will dictate how high he can aim with Albion this season.

The Seagulls go to Crystal Palace tonight (8pm) aiming to improve on last season’s wasteful and controversial 1-1 draw at the same venue.

They do so without Joel Veltman, who has been sidelined for an estimated two months due to a knee injury.

Danny Welbeck is fit enough for a role on the bench but Albion are still missing several players while others, though not absent, are not being considered to start this evening.

Albion set their sights on Europe in the immediate aftermath of last season’s game at Selhurst Park as they spoke together amid a mood of intense disappointment in the away team’s changing room.

De Zerbi will not set goals for this season until he knows who he has to work with at the end of January.

The Albion head coach said: “Adam Lallana, (James) Milner, Welbeck and (Jakub) Moder can’t start the game or play in the first XI (this evening).

“You can imagine how much choice I have, no? Not too many choices.

“There are 12 players can start, maybe 13.

“We have to analyse the transfer market.

“How many players we bring, what level of players we will bring. Then we can fix the target.”

Albion have been particularly hard hit by injuries at full-back and in the winger/No.10 areas.

The anticipated date of Julio Enciso’s return has been pushed back from January while Veltman will be missed.

De Zerbi said: “He has an injury not so big but I think for a couple of months we lost him.”