Speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash, the German coach had nothing but praise for the Spaniard who has won everything possible with a City side who have looked unstoppable in recent years.
“I will meet him on Saturday and of course I’m looking forward to meeting him because he’s one of the best managers in the world," said Hurzeler.
“His achievements are impressive, but it’s not a game between me and him.
“It’s a football game for Brighton and Hove Albion and we want to win this football game It’s nice to meet him, but it would be much nicer to meet him and to beat him.
“Of course, I followed him because he was also coach of the club I played for a long time, of Bayern Munich. I saw him coaching, I saw his achievements in Germany already.”
The Seagulls boss says Guardiola is an inspiration to him, but admits he must follow his own path in management and take inspiration from a number of great managers along the way.
“Maybe you follow him more than other coaches and he had a big impact in Germany when he integrated the inverted full-back in Germany for the first time. That’s why he’s a role model. But you always have to go your own way and you always have to keep pushing your own style of play and keep trying to develop your own things, your own elements.
“I would be stubborn if I didn’t look at his games and his achievements in the past, because I think every young coach can learn from the new coaches, from the coaches who were already in the business a long time and who achieved great things.
“It’s not only Pep Guardiola, it’s also the German coaches like Klopp, Tuchel. I followed coaches like Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, who had great achievements here. So, it’s about being open to new ideas. It’s about recognising what made them so successful.
“And then it’s about thinking for yourself. If these elements from them are helpful for my style of play. But in the end, you can’t be artificial, you always have to be authentic. And that’s the most important point."