Premier League rankings: Brighton analysis, line-up & predicted finish

Graham Potter's path to the Premier League has gone the long route via Sweden and Swansea but Brighton are banking on their new manager not maintaining the long balls in a bid to sustain top-flight football.

Not everyone agreed when Chris Hughton was sacked but the majority of Albion supporters had become disillusioned with the pragmatic football played by Hughton, if not the man himself.

At some clubs, Hughton may have been able to point to Premier League safety and insist it was job done, although Albion being owned by renowned gambler Tony Bloom means a simple glance of the table was unlikely to have been the sum total of the campaign debrief.

Because of Bloom's background they will have presumably examined key performance indicators and some expected-goal models ranked them as a relegation outfit.

Brighton won only twice in the Premier League in 2019 as they just about stayed up in 17th spot, finishing 19th and 20th respectively in the total shots and attempts on target standings.

Hughton will point to Brighton's ultimate survival but the board will point to a wasted season after significant investment and supporters will point to the average of 70 long balls per game as a reason for change.

Potter has been boosted by the arrival of Leandro Trossard, a Belgian international winger who scored 14 goals for champions Genk last season, but the former Ostersunds chief will mainly be entrusted with bringing the best out of 2018 signings such as Alireza Jahanbakhsh.

Iranian Jahanbakhsh was an unmitigated disaster – the club record signing failed to score or assist a goal all season – with veteran Glenn Murray's tally of 13 proving crucial to the Seagulls' survival.

Potter brought beautiful passing patterns with him to Swansea last season – they ranked second for overall possession in the Sky Bet Championship and top for pass completion – and he clearly has progressive ideas as well as total belief in the process required to advance playing styles.

However, if it does not bring improvement to Albion then trouble could follow.

Possible team (4-2-3-1): Ryan, Montoya, Dunk, Duffy, Bernardo; Stephens, Propper; March, Gross, Trossard; Murray.

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