Brighton & Hove Albion

Having feared relegation in previous years, Graham Potter guided the Seagulls to a ninth-place finish in 2021-22, 16 points clear of the bottom three and only five points behind the European places.

Whether Brighton can kick on and push for another top-10 finish or even break into the top seven remains to be seen, but their progressive footballing philosophy with a youthful squad will be on show once again at the Amex Stadium this term.

Here, Sports Mole previews Brighton's 2022-23 campaign and takes an in-depth look at what supporters can expect during the course of the season.

FIXTURES

For the fourth time in the last five years, Brighton will begin their Premier League campaign away from home, and in 2022-23 they will travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on the opening day.

Their first home clash will see them welcome Newcastle United to the Amex Stadium on August 13, before finishing the month with games against West Ham United, Leeds United and Fulham.

The first M23 derby between Brighton and Crystal Palace will take place on the South Coast on September 17, before the Seagulls face a challenging month in October with fixtures against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Chelsea.

After a six-week break between mid-November and late December for the 2022 World Cup, Brighton will resume their Premier League campaign with a trip to Southampton on Boxing Day, before rounding off the year with a home clash against Arsenal on New Year's Eve.

Goodison Park will be the venue for Brighton's first game in 2023 when they face Everton on January 2, before a reverse fixture of the M23 derby against Palace on February 11.

The Seagulls will welcome Man United and Man City to the Amex in between visiting the capital to face Spurs and Chelsea between March and April, and they will then conclude the campaign with a final-day trip to Aston Villa on May 28.

SUMMER SIGNINGS

In

Julio Enciso (£10m, Club Libertad)

Simon Adingra (£7.2m, FC Nordsjaelland)

Out

Yves Bissouma (£25m, Tottenham Hotspur)

Leo Ostigard (£4.5m, Napoli)

Jayson Molumby (undisclosed, West Bromwich Albion)

Alex Cochrane (undisclosed, Hearts)

Tudor Baluta (free, FCV Farul)

Simon Adingra (loan, Union SG)

Carl Rushworth (loan, Lincoln City)

Haydon Roberts (loan, Derby County)

Abdallah Sima (loan, Angers)

Aaron Connolly (loan, Venezia)

Taylor Richards (loan, Queens Park Rangers)

Marc Leonard (loan, Northampton Town)

Jensen Weir (loan, Morecambe)

Reda Khadra (loan, Sheffield United)

Teddy Jenks (loan, Crawley Town)

Total spent to date: £17.2m

Total received to date: £29.5m

Net transfer balance: £12.3m

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez, Kjell Scherpen, Jason Steele

Defenders: Tariq Lamptey, Marc Cucurella, Adam Webster, Lewis Dunk, Shane Duffy, Joel Veltman, Matt Clarke, Michal Karbownik, Jan Paul van Hecke

Midfielders: Alexis Mac Allister, Enock Mwepu, Pascal Gross, Adam Lallana, Jakub Moder, Steven Alzate, Solly March, Moises Caicedo, Jeremy Sarmiento, Kaoru Mitoma, Kacper Kozlowski

Forwards: Neal Maupay, Leandro Trossard, Danny Welbeck, Andi Zeqiri, Florin Andone, Deniz Undav, Julio Enciso

STRONGEST XI

STAR PLAYER - LEANDRO TROSSARD

Leandro Trossard has been one of Brighton's key attacking assets since joining the club three years ago and he remains an important part of Potter's plans going forward.

The 27-year-old started 32 of his 34 Premier League appearances last season and recorded eight goals and three assists, contributing to more goals than any of his teammates.

Potter's flexible frontline allows Trossard to roam from out wide into central areas, causing problems for opposition defenders attempting to mark the tricky Belgium international.

Trossard is now an established Premier League player who has represented the Seagulls 100 times in the top flight and he will be one of the first names on Potter's teamsheet in 2022-23.

While Yves Bissouma has joined Tottenham and Marc Cucurella could also head out of the exit door, Trossard is expected to stay at the Amex Stadium and he will be hoping to fire Brighton towards another top-10 finish this season.

MANAGER - GRAHAM POTTER

Since taking the reins at Brighton in 2019, Graham Potter has implemented an attractive, possession-based brand of football at the Amex Stadium, and his group of players have come on leaps and bounds over the last 12 months.

The Seagulls could only finish as high as 15th in their first four seasons in the Premier League, but Potter's men managed to break into the top 10 last season, accumulating 10 points more than the previous two seasons under the 47-year-old.

Brighton also had the fourth-highest average possession in the top flight last season with 54.3%, which was only bettered by the division's top three of Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

After seven years with Swedish outfit Ostersund and a year in the Championship with Swansea City, Potter has since enhanced his reputation in the Premier League with Brighton, and has previously attracted interest from the likes of Spurs.

The Solihull-born manager is now preparing for his fourth year at the helm and intends to push his Brighton side to new highs, albeit knowing how difficult the competition around him has become.

LAST SEASON - 9th

Brighton experienced an inconsistent Premier League campaign in 2021-22, but they still managed to make significant improvements on the previous season. After finishing two places above the relegation zone in 2020-21, they ended last term just two positions behind the Europa Conference League qualification spot.

The Seagulls made a bright start to the campaign and were sitting inside the top four in the middle of September after winning four of their opening five matches. However, Potter's men endured a winless run of 11 games before securing maximum points against Brentford on Boxing Day. This result then sparked an unbeaten streak of seven league matches until mid-February.

In the midst of their inconsistent league form, Brighton were eliminated on penalties by Leicester City in the fourth round of the EFL Cup, before losing 3-1 at Spurs at the same stage of the FA Cup.

Brighton's most challenging period of the season came between February 15 and March 16 when they lost six successive league matches, scoring only once and conceding 13 goals in the process. A goalless draw against basement club Norwich City followed, but they eventually turned their fortunes around with two surprise back-to-back victories in the capital away at Arsenal and Spurs.

A 3-0 away loss to eventual champions Man City was the only defeat in their final nine league games of the season. Potter's side picked up 18 points from a possible 27 available during this run, which helped them climb into the top half of the table and finish the campaign in a respectable ninth position.

Brighton finished their Premier League season with 15 draws, the joint-most in the division along with Crystal Palace, as well as 12 victories and 11 defeats.

PREDICTION

Brighton are yet to make waves in the transfer market, which is a slight cause for concern considering the loss of Bissouma and the potential exit of Cucurella.

Only four teams scored fewer goals than the Seagulls in the top flight last season - three of which were relegated - so while their forward-thinking brand of football is pleasing on the eye, improvements need to be made in the final third if they are to match or better last season's ninth-place finish.

Deniz Undav, who was signed in January, could be the answer after excelling in front of goal in Belgium last term, although he lacks experience at the elite level of European football.

Considering the majority of other mid-table clubs have improved their squads over the summer, Potter's men are at risk of falling behind the chasing pack who are seeking to break into the top half or top seven.

The Seagulls should have enough quality at their disposal to avoid a relegation battle, but they may be forced to settle for a mid-table finish this time around.

VERDICT: 13th