Brighton & Hove Albion Premier League season preview

bet365 News Team 15 Nov 22

Brighton finished last season in ninth place, their best-ever Premier League standing, and Graham Potter will hope to try and repeat those heroics.

Original article published 22 August 2022

Few expected the Seagulls to secure a top-10 finish, with many predicting that they would either be in a relegation battle or, at best, finish in lower mid-table.

However, Potter's men had a strong ending to the season and they became a tough team to beat, losing only 11 times in 38 games.

A repeat of last term would be magnificent, but Potter is a realist and he will be happy with steering them away from any sort of relegation battle - the Seagulls are 6/5 to achieve a top-half finish.

What	England Premier League 2022/23
Where	England
When	5th August 2022 - 28th May 2023
How to watch	Selected matches broadcast on Sky, BT Sport and Amazon Prime
Odds	Manchester City 4/7, Liverpool 2/1, Tottenham 14/1, Chelsea 16/1, Manchester United 33/1

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Where did Brighton finish last season?

9th

What are Brighton's hopes for this season?

Brighton's key aim this season will be to prove that last year's ninth-place finish was no fluke and that they can do it all again.

It was a strange campaign in many respects - the Seagulls went 11 games without victory between September and December then lost six in a row between February and March, and still came out with a top-half finish.

Potter will be hoping for greater consistency levels this term but Brighton will be realistic and they'll know a tilt at European football is perhaps unlikely.

Obviously, avoiding relegation will be welcomed and Brighton are 1/16 to not go down - consolidation is the task at hand for the south coast outfit.

Who are Brighton's opening opponents?

Manchester United away is the game the fixture computer threw out first for Brighton and although on paper it looks tough, it might prove to be a nice start.

There will be no expectations placed upon Albion to win, while all the attention will be on the Red Devils and boss Erik ten Hag as they enter another new era.

Brighton thumped United 4-0 at home towards the back end of last season and they also managed to secure away wins at Arsenal and Tottenham, so there will be no fear factor for Potter's side.

It could be set up for them to pop the balloon early at Old Trafford and they can be backed at 9/2 to win, with United 11/20 and a draw at 16/5.

When are Brighton's key fixtures?

Brighton face bitter rivals Crystal Palace at the Amex on 17th September, while the return fixture at Selhurst Park is on 11th February - the Seagulls haven't won any of the past six meetings.

Prior to the break for the World Cup, Brighton host Aston Villa on 12th November before a short journey to South Coast rivals Southampton welcomes them back on Boxing Day.

The Seagulls end their season with a visit to Villa on Sunday 28th May.

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Who is Brighton's manager?

Potter has been in charge of Brighton since the summer of 2019 when he was poached from Championship side Swansea after one year in South Wales.

The West Midlands native has followed an unconventional managerial path, spending seven years in Sweden with Ostersunds between 2011-2018, where he took them from the fourth tier to European football.

He is regarded as one of the best English coaches in the division and is frequently cited as someone who could take over from Gareth Southgate when the time comes for a new England boss.

Potter likes to play attacking football and has the ability to mix up formations, with Brighton as likely to play a 3-5-2 as they are 4-3-3.

Which players have Brighton signed?

Julio Ensico (Libertad)
Benicio Baker-Boaitey (Porto)
Simon Adingra (Nordsjaelland)
Levi Colwill (Chelsea) Loan

Which players have left Brighton?

Jayson Molumby (West Brom)
Tudor Baluta (Released)
Adam Desbois (Released)
Lars Dendoncker (Released)
Ulrick Ella (Released)
Ayo Tanimowo (Released)
John Lucero (Released)
Jaami Qureshi (Released)
Fynn Talley (Cliftonville) Loan
Yves Bissouma (Tottenham)
Alex Cochrane (Hearts)
Simon Adingra (Saint-Gilloise) Loan
Carl Rushworth (Lincoln) Loan
Haydon Roberts (Derby) Loan
Abdallah Sima (Angers) Loan
Aaron Connolly (Venezia) Loan
Leo Ostigard (Napoli)
Taylor Richards (QPR) Loan
Marc Leonard (Northampton) Loan
Jensen Weir (Morecambe) Loan
Reda Khadra (Sheff Utd) Loan
Teddy Jenks (Crawley) Loan
Andi Zeqiri (Basel) Loan
Michal Karbownik (Fortuna Dusseldorf) Loan
Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)
Shane Duffy (Fulham) Loan

Who are Brighton's key players?

Star man	Marc Cucurella
Potential top scorer	Neal Maupay/Leandro Trossard
Set piece king	Alexis Mac Allister
Exciting youngster	Tariq Lamptey

Brighton have already lost one of their star players in Yves Bissouma, the midfielder heading to Tottenham, and another in Marc Cucurella could still leave with heavily rumoured interest from Manchester City.

The left-back was outstanding last season after joining from Getafe and proved himself to be a very strong defender as well as adventurous on the charge forward.

Brighton do have some talented players in their ranks - Belgian winger Leandro Trossard has been one of their go-to men for some time and had his best goalscoring season last year with eight goals.

Frenchman Neal Maupay is a tricky customer up top and scored nine times, though one of Potter's targets will be to extract more goals from a team that do create chances.

Defensively, Brighton are sound with captain Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster both very solid operators at centre-back while speedster Tariq Lamptey will be hoping to have an injury-free year and showcase his huge potential at right wing-back.

Which of Brighton's players will be going to the World Cup?

Lamptey recently switched his international allegiance to Ghana, so it is likely he will be a key component for the Black Stars.

Trossard has been a Belgium squad player for some time and was part of their party at Euro 2020 so he is likely to feature.

Robert Sanchez could be one of Spain's goalkeepers, while Cucurella made his international debut for La Roja last year and could head to Qatar if his form carries on the way it has.

Alexis Mac Allister has been in recent Argentina squads, while Jakub Moder and Moises Caicedo are likely to travel with Poland and Ecuador, respectively.