Crawley boss Scott Lindsey said he would not be speaking to close friend Andrew Crofts ahead of his side's draw with Albion as he focuses on preparing his team for the game.
Lindsey said in his pre-match press conference that despite their personal relationship he would be solely focused on the game until the full time whistle.
He said: "I won’t speak to Crofty. He is a bit of a personal friend and I probably won’t speak to him before the game.
"We will remain professional. When you play against each other you don’t tend to speak, you’re in your camp preparing your team.
"You never really give too much away. You concentrate on what you are doing and I’m sure he will be doing the same."
Lindsey added that Crawley will be "fully respectful" of Brighton in the run up to the game and "welcome the exposure" of playing against, and learning from, a Premier League side.
Crawley expect to take around 3,000 fans to the Amex for the Carabao Cup second leg tie.
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