🦁 PL Previews: Can Brighton and De Zerbi surprise again? | OneFootball

Brighton were the surprise package of last season’s Premier League campaign.

From a blistering start under Graham Potter to a couple of brilliant runs and some scintillating football under Roberto De Zerbi, they will now be seen as a scalp and under huge pressure to repeat the trick.

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Transfers 🔁

In: João Pedro (Watford, £30m), Bart Verbruggen (Anderlecht, £16.3m), Igor Julio (Fiorentina, £14.5m), Mahmoud Dahoud (Dortmund, free), James Milner (Liverpool, free)

Out: Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool, £35m) Reda Khadra (£1.7m, Reims), Jeremy Sarmiento (West Brom, loan), Abdallah Sima (Rangers, loan), Kjell Scherpen (Sturm Graz, loan)

Transfer balance: -£24.1m

Key fixtures 📆

🔑 Key player: Moisés Caicedo

Moisés Caicedo is currently a Brighton player and if he remains one he will be integral this season. But will he?

The Ecuadorian international quickly became one of the Premier League’s leading midfielders last season, covering huge amounts of ground and snapping into challenges before using the ball intelligently.

It’s little wonder Arsenal chased him and Chelsea are now submitting bids with Manchester United and Liverpool also linked.

With Alexis Mac Allister already sold to Liverpool, Caicedo will be vital in the centre of the park should he remain on the south coast.

What has changed since last season? 🤔

Mac Allister was fantastic in 2022/23, even having the time to pop to Qatar to win the World Cup midway through the season, and will be a big miss. So will Levi Colwill, who has returned to Chelsea after an impressive loan spell.

The defender has been replaced by Igor from Fiorentina, with Adam Webster and Joël Veltman offering depth, so the bigger questions are in midfield.

With Mac Allister gone and Caicedo possibly following, the entire midfield could look different. Will Pascal Groß have to slot back in from right-back? Can Mahmoud Dahoud hit the ground running and stay fit? Will Billy Gilmour get regular minutes?  And what can we expect from James Milner?

With depth everywhere else — Webster, Veltman, Tariq Lamptey, Milner, Facundo Buonanotte, Adam Lallana, Julio Enciso and Danny Welbeck all miss out of our predicted XI, plus, electric 21-year-old Ivorian Simon Adingra, back from a loan spell — the big questions come in midfield.

Predicted XI 🔮

(4-2-3-1) — Steele; Groß, Dunk, Igor, Estupiñán; Caicedo, Dahoud; March, João Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson

Where will they finish? 🏆

Premier League: 9th

Europa League: Quarter-finals

FA Cup: Fifth Round

League Cup: Runners-up

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