Brighton v Southampton: soaring Seagulls

Never slam Dunk – bbc.co.uk

Brighton & Hove Albion’s start to life in the Premier League has been hugely impressive. It is a credit to the structure at the club that they have endured 34 years away from the top flight, yet do not look out of place upon their return.

Few of their squad has tangible experience at this level, yet that has counted for little. It has been a seamless transition for Lewis Dunk, who was one of the best centre-backs in the Championship last year and, outside the top six, he is among the better defenders even in this division.

Dunk has made a string of last-ditch blocks, as he did in the 3-0 win at West Ham last Friday, with Shane Duffy heading ball after ball away, ably supported by the full-backs tucking in. Right-back Bruno is 37 yet, with his uncanny ability to avoid getting into a footrace with his opponents, his reading of the game making up for any lack of pace.

They will be a difficult outfit for Southampton to break down. The Saints got a 1-0 win over West Brom last-time out thanks to a fine individual strike from substitute Sofiane Boufal, who managed to find gaps between the opposition’s midfield and defence. They deserved that victory, having come closest previously with Ryan Bertrand hitting the post and Shane Long missing from three yards out.

Although Long has qualities, he has gone 26 games without a goal and might not be able to stretch play against Brighton, who allow no space in their defensive third. A lot of teams who try to play a similar way make the mistake of backing off their opponents, but Brighton always put pressure on the ball at the crucial moments.

The key to that is the midfield pairing of Davy Propper and Dale Stephens. Propper has made 18 interceptions this term – Steven Defour is the league’s only central midfielder to have made more – while Stephens has completed 27 tackles – only Wilfred Ndidi has completed more.

For the visitors, Mario Lemina offers similar qualities as well as powerful dribbling, but he’s sidelined with an ankle injury. The Gabonese ex-Juve man’s absence might tempt Mauricio Pellegrino to move to an attacking 4-4-2, with Steven Davis and Oriol Romeu locking down the central areas to allow an attacking quartet extra freedom. Manolo Gabbiadini, who bagged twice against Newcastle recently, will be their main threat.

The Saints have the better individuals, but they are still searching for their identity under Pellegrino. Brighton have not lost at home since the opening day 2-0 defeat to Man City – and they didn’t play too badly in that one – so Chris Hughton’s men should once again keep things tight in Sussex.

The Football Lab’s Verdict: 1-1