Will Buckley is confident Brighton & Hove Albion can seal a Wembley showdown against his former club but admitted it won’t be easy in the second leg of their play-off semi-final against Crystal Palace tonight.

The former Watford winger, who joined the Seagulls for £1m two years ago, could be a pivotal figure when his club take on Palace at the Amex Stadium for the right to play the Hornets in the Championship play-off final on Monday, May 27.

Gus Poyet’s side are widely tipped to get through after Friday’s first leg at Selhurst Park ended 0-0 but Buckley told The Argus: “People will probably be putting us as favourites but you know how close these games can be. We are confident within the camp that we can do it and get through the tie but it’s going to be difficult.

“We are not taking anything lightly or thinking we are already through. There will be no danger of that. Like the gaffer has said, it’s one massive game, one kind of cup final at home, which we would definitely have taken after the first leg.

“Obviously, it would be nice to play against my old club. There are not many players there from when I was there because they’ve had a lot of loan players in, but they played a big part in my career. They gave me my chance coming from a League Two club.”