All 20 Premier League teams’ starts to the season are analysed in this **Half-Term report** series, with **Brighton and Hove Albion** up next.
GW
Result
Brighton’s xG
Brighton’s xGC
1
Brighton 4-0 Villa
3.77
0.29
2
Chelsea 4-3 Brighton
1.41
2.93
3
Brighton 1-1 Leeds
2.19
2.49
4
Coventry 0-5 Brighton
2.81
1.33
5
Brighton 3-0 Arsenal
1.31
1.63
Fabian Hurzeler’s men have made a superb start to the season, with three wins and one draw from five matches, leaving them third in the table.
From an attacking perspective, they are top for actual and expected goals (xG), with 16 and 11.48 respectively.
Furthermore, they are second for shots (95), while their 22 big chances are at least two more than any other side.
At the other end of the pitch, Brighton have kept clean sheets against Aston Villa, Coventry City and Arsenal. However, they are in the bottom seven for expected goals conceded (xGC), with 8.67.
They are 20th for set-play xGC, too (4.3).
Total
Rank v other clubs
xG
11.48
1st
xGC
8.67
14th
**Pascal Gross** (£5.8m) and **Bart Verbruggen** (£4.5m) have played every minute of every match so far.
**Luka Vuskovic** (£5.0m), **Olivier Boscagli** (£4.5m), **Diego Gomez** (£5.0m) and **Maxim De Cuyper** (£5.0m) have also made five starts.
**Jack Hinshelwood** (£5.9m) started in the No 10 role in Gameweek 1, but after his injury, **Malick Yalcouye** (£4.5m) took over and started three times in a row. Then, **Yasin Ayari** (£5.4m) was preferred against Arsenal prior to the international break.
Up top, **Georginio Rutter**’s (£5.3m) injury created an opportunity for **Charalampos Kostoulas** (£5.6m) to lead the line, and it’s safe to say he’s taken it, with four attacking returns in his last two matches.
We await injury updates on Hinshelwood, **Yankuba Minteh** (£5.8m) and **Kaoru Mitoma** (£5.9m), who could all return after the international break. It’s a timely boost given Brighton’s schedule, which includes three European matches before mid-November.
