- Brighton's Fabian Hurzeler the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history 
- The Seagulls have finished ninth, sixth and 11th in last three seasons
- Recommended bet: Brighton to finish in the top 10

Brighton are renowned for their innovative recruitment of players and managers and they start a new era under 31-year-old coach Fabian Hurzeler this season.

The German manager succeeds Roberto De Zerbi, who led the Seagulls in their maiden European campaign last term and another exciting season is expected on the Sussex coast.

Last season

After finishing sixth in the Premier League in 2022-23, Brighton burst out of the traps last season, winning five of their first six games including 3-1 victories over Newcastle and Manchester United.

However, a 6-1 drubbing by Aston Villa halted their progress and the injury-hit Seagulls collected only 33 points from their next 32 fixtures to finish 11th, one point behind fast-finishing rivals Crystal Palace.

They won a tough Europa League group ahead of Marseille, Ajax and AEK Athens but lost 4-1 on aggregate to Roma in the round of 16 and manager De Zerbi departed after two seasons at the club to take charge of Marseille.

Manager

Texas-born German coach Fabian Hurzeler is the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history and he made a major impact in his first season at St Pauli.

Hurzeler led the Hamburg-based club to the 2023-24 Bundesliga 2 title and his pacy, possession-based football should prove popular with Brighton fans.

Transfers

Brighton have made some significant signings this summer, bringing in teenage wingers Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle and Ibrahim Osman from Danish club Nordsjaelland.

Amario Cozier-Duberry, another exciting young winger, was snapped up on a free transfer from Arsenal and defensive midfielder Mats Wieffer, who impressed in his two seasons under Arne Slot at Feyenoord, has arrived for a fee of £25million.

Influential midfielder Pascal Gross has joined Borussia Dortmund and Adam Lallana and Steven Alzate were among the players released at the end of last term.

Strengths and weaknesses

Brighton have some outstanding young attacking players who should relish playing under new boss Hurzeler and Seagulls supporters will be looking forward to seeing more of Kaoru Mitoma, Joao Pedro, Julio Enciso, Simon Adingra and striker Evan Ferguson.

They struggled to strike the right balance between attack and defence in De Zerbi's second season, keeping only six clean sheets and conceding 30 goals in 12 games against the top six.

Injuries and the demands of the Europa League campaign hampered their domestic form and they won only two of their last 17 away matches in the Premier League.

Gross and Lewis Dunk were the only two players to make more than 26 top-flight starts for Brighton last season so more consistency of selection is required in 2024-25.

Best outright bet

Brighton finished ninth in the Premier League in 2021-22 before soaring into the top six in 2022-23, when they also reached the FA Cup semi-finals.

Despite last season's European exertions and injury crisis, they finished just one point off the top half and should be backed to make the top 10 this term.

Appointing such an inexperienced manager is clearly a risk but Brighton's owners have a superb record in that department and their squad looks more progressive than mid-table rivals such as Palace, West Ham and Bournemouth.

Key players such as Mitoma, Ferguson and left-back Pervis Estupinan will be raring to go after injury-hit campaigns in 2023-24 and with no European football, the Seagulls are capable of improving their league status.

Back Brighton to finish in the top 10 at 4/5 with LiveScore Bet