Premier League 2026/27: The Seagulls are soaring high this season

Brighton and Hove Albion have made a sensational start to the ongoing Premier League season. They are currently sitting in third place behind Manchester City and Arsenal with 10 points in five games – three wins, a draw and a loss. Barring the loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a high-scoring thriller, Brighton have been exceptional, especially in attack. They have scored the highest number of goals in the league with 16 goals in five games, three more than league leaders Manchester City.

Although it’s early days, they have already defeated two of the top teams. Before going into the international break, Brighton defeated Manchester United in the third round of the League Cup and Arsenal in the Premier League back-to-back. Both games were contrasting in nature as they came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Man United 3-2 in exciting fashion while the Arsenal game was an emphatic 3-0 victory where they dominated from start to finish. The Arsenal game was particularly incredible to watch as they constantly pressurised the usually solid Arsenal defence into submission while not giving the defending champions any chances to score. 

Brighton has always been a team that has secured upsets over the ‘Top 6’ Teams in recent years. The Seagulls can never be underestimated as they are a massive threat on attack. Their record against the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal has been decent in the last few years. For context, the past three seasons, they have beaten the Premier League champions at home. In the 2023/24 season, they defeated Man City at the Amex, in the 2024/25 season they defeated Liverpool 3-2 and in the ongoing season, they have defeated Arsenal 3-0 at home. This was also the biggest margin of defeat for Arsenal since the 2022/23 season which was a defeat against the same opposition at the Emirates. 

This season they have played front-footed, high-press and high intensity football, suffocating the opposition and inducing errors. What makes these performances even more special is that head-coach Fabian Hürzeler hasn’t made any excuses for injuries to many key players and utilized the players available to him. Kaoru Mitoma, Jack Hinshelwood, Yankuba Minteh, Mats Wieffer, Lewis Dunk and Pascal Struijk are all out with injuries. Despite the injuries and the crucial players (Carlos Baleba and Jan Paul van Hecke) they sold in the summer along with the departure of experienced squad members like James Milner and Adam Webster, Brighton have started the season brilliantly. 

New signings have made an instant impact with Greek forward Charalampos Kostoulas and Ivorian midfielder Malick Yalcouyé having impressed with two goals each. Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Luka Vuškovi? has replaced Van Hecke in the backline and already looks comfortable. However, it’s been the Belgian left-back Maxim de Cuyper (One goal and three assists) and the German midfielder Pascal Groß (three goals and three assists) that have been the standout players for Brighton so far.  Groß has been at the heart of all attacks for the South Coast side and proving the adage ‘Ageing like fine wine’. He was struggling to find regular time at Borussia Dortmund last season and decided to return to Brighton in January 2026. He has been outstanding this season, holding the Brighton midfield together, controlling the tempo, providing the assists and also scoring some exquisite long-range goals. 

Brighton had also qualified for the UEFA Conference League last season, their second foray in European competition after the Europa League campaign in 2023/24 season. They have a great chance to win the Conference League this year as English teams have dominated this competition for the past few years with three different English teams (West Ham United, Chelsea and Crystal Palace) emerging victorious in three of the last four seasons. 

It’s still a long season to go and things could possibly change when they start playing three games a week with the European competition coming up. If they don’t fix their injury issues, the performances could begin to deteriorate and all their great early work could well be nullified. For now, though, Brighton looks like a team with massive confidence and belief that they can attack and dominate oppositions with their high-intensity, high-press playing style. They are going to be a very challenging opponent for the rest of the Premier League, especially at the Amex. 

The Seagulls are flying high and looking impressive at the moment, but the Premier League is fiercely competitive and brutal, and no game can be taken for granted. They must therefore remain focused and avoid complacency, or their wings could be clipped in no time.