In Profile: Brighton & Hove Albion

First Team
22 Jun 2020
4 Minutes
Leicester City host 15th-place Brighton & Hove Albion in a behind-closed-doors Premier League fixture on Tuesday 23 June (6pm kick-off).

Brendan Rodgers' Foxes return to King Power Stadium on Tuesday for the visit of Graham Potter’s Brighton and Hove Albion side.

City are looking to record a first victory since the restart, following Saturday's 1-1 draw with Watford at Vicarage Road.

The Seagulls, meanwhile, enjoyed a good start to playing behind closed doors, beating Arsenal 2-1 at AMEX Stadium to complete a league double over the Gunners and move five points clear of the relegation zone.

As LCFC.com continues to profile every side City will face over the 2019/20 campaign, this week we take a closer look at Potter's Brighton outfit...

The manager

Graham Potter took charge of the Seagulls in the summer of 2019, following a single season managing Swansea City in the Sky Bet Championship.

Former Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and York City left-back Graham Potter signed a four-year contract as Brighton's manager in the summer of 2019, following one year at Swansea City.

The Seagulls made an assured start to the 2019/20 season following his appointment, securing wins over Watford, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Norwich City.

However, Leicester’s 2-0 victory at AMEX Stadium in November put a halt to their good run of form and the South Coast outfit would only record two more league wins before the postponement of Premier League football in March.

After graduating from the Open University with a degree in Social Science, working for the University of Hull as a football development manager and as a technical director for the Ghana women's team, Potter also completed a master's in Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, before going into professional football management. 

Potter's career began at Östersund in Sweden, where he led them from the fourth tier to the Allsvenskan, the country's top division, eventually also winning the Svenska Cupen, or Swedish Cup.

That latter success qualified his side for the second qualifying round of the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League, where they would defeat Turkish giants Galatasaray 3-1 over two legs.

Also overcoming Fola Esch and PAOK, Östersund eventually reached the group stage and would finish second, level on points with Athletic Bilbao, seeing them into the knockout round.

Potter and his resilient, skilful side truly made headlines in England by sealing a remarkable 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, but would eventually suffer an aggregate defeat in 2018.

In the following summer, Potter moved to Swansea City, reaching the quarter-finals of the Emirates FA Cup, finishing 10th in the Sky Bet Championship and building a youthful, talented squad.

The players

French forward Neal Maupay is Brighton's top scorer with nine Premier League goals to his name so far this campaign.

Graham Potter made 10 signings during his first summer window in charge, including Adam Webster, from Bristol City, for a reported £20M, and Leandro Trossard, from Genk, for a reported £18M.

Also coming in were Neal Maupay, from Brentford, who is currently the Seagulls' top scorer with nine goals, and Aaron Mooy, who joined from Huddersfield Town on loan before making his move permanent in January.

Elsewhere in the winter transfer window, Brighton moved to secure the services of Chelsea youngster Tariq Lamptey, with the 19-year-old right-back signing on a permanent deal reportedly worth around £3M.

Going the other way, forward Jurgen Locadia left AMEX Stadium, signing on loan for new MLS side Cincinnati, while defenders Leon Balogun and Gaëtan Bong moved into the Sky Bet Championship, signing for Wigan Athletic and Nottingham Forest respectively.

While Potter has several established Premier League players at his disposal, including Lewis Dunk, Glenn Murray and Pascal Groß, he also has been keen to promote youth.

After making an excellent impression at Under-23s level, including scoring at King Power Stadium against Leicester's youngsters, Irish striker Aaron Connolly was promoted to Brighton's first team.

In October, Connolly scored his first two goals in the Premier League in a brilliant 3-0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur, earning him a maiden call-up for the Republic of Ireland and later making two international outings.

Only Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan has featured in all 30 of their Premier League fixtures to date, while top scoring forward Maupay has missed just one game so far this season.

The trophy cabinet

Brighton were promoted to the Premier League for the first time at the end of the 2016/17 season.

Three-time third tier champions Brighton (1958, 2002 and 2011) have also finished as runners-up in the second tier twice, in 1979 and, most recently, in 2017.

Over their history, the Seagulls have also won the fourth division twice, in 1965 and 2001, while lifting the Southern Football League title back in 1910.

In domestic cup competitions, meanwhile, the South Coast side were FA Cup runners-up in 1983, losing a replay to Manchester United, and FA Charity Shield winners in 1910.

The stadium

Brighton moved to their current home, AMEX Stadium, in 2011 and regularly attract crowds of over 30,000 for Premier League fixtures.

AMEX Stadium, Brighton's home since 2011, is among the most picturesque venues in English football, surrounded by woodland and including an iconic curved design to its four stands.

Based in the village of Falmer, the 30,750-capacity ground was built after Brighton left the Goldstone Ground in 1995 with no permanent new home arranged.

After ground sharing at Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium for two seasons, 50 miles away in Kent, the club then moved to Withdean Stadium, where they remained between 1999 and 2011.

After expansion work since its opening in 2011, AMEX Stadium allows Brighton to regularly attract crowds in the region of 30,000, while also providing a day-to-day home for the club.

The fixtures

The Seagulls take on Manchester United at home in their next Premier League fixture.

After travelling to King Power Stadium this Tuesday, Brighton return home to face Manchester United the following Tuesday (8:15pm kick-off), before another away trip, this time against Norwich City on Saturday 4 July (3pm kick-off).

They then welcome the European Champions, Liverpool, to AMEX Stadium on Wednesday 8 July (8:15pm kick-off), before taking on Premier League holders Manchester City three days later, also at home (8pm kick-off).

The season comes to a close for Graham Potter's side with visits to Southampton on Wednesday 15 July (8pm kick-off) and Burnley on Sunday 26 July (3pm kick-off), with a home game against Newcastle United sandwiched in between on Saturday 18 July (3pm kick-off).

Support your club. Stay safe. Follow at home.

All times BST.