Brighton & Hove Albion

Here are the key facts and figures following the Premier League draw between Brentford and Brighton:

• Brentford are winless in their past eight Premier League games (D3 L5). They last went on a longer streak without a win within a single league season between February to April 2007 in League One (run of 11).

• Brighton are winless in each of their seven away Premier League games against sides from London this season, while they have failed to score in four league games in the capital this term - the most they have done so in a single season since 1921-22.

• Brentford have won just 28 points from their first 31 Premier League games this season, which is the Bees' worst points tally at this stage of a top flight campaign since 1946-47 (also 28 points, assuming three points for a win), which is the last time they were relegated from the top tier.

• Brighton had 24 shots in this match without scoring - their most ever in a single Premier League away game without netting a goal. It was just the third time they have done so home and away in the competition, and first since the 31 efforts they had against Norwich without scoring in April 2022.

• Pascal Gross created seven chances and completed 118 passes for Brighton in this game. It was the second time this season that he has had five or more chances created and 100 or more passes in a Premier League match (also v Sheffield United), with Cesc Fabregas in 2016-17 the last player to do that more than once in a single campaign (also twice).

• Brighton made four changes to their line-up for this game, which means they have made 114 starting XI changes in the Premier League this term - the most of any side. It is more than the Seagulls made in any of their previous six campaigns in the competition.

Ivan Toney's run without a Premier League goal extended to seven games as Brentford and Brighton played out a dull draw.

Toney was denied by Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen with one good chance and has now failed to score for Brentford since 17 February.

The 15th-placed Bees are winless in five home league games and six points above the relegation places.

Brighton produced few chances of their own despite dominating possession and stay ninth in the table.

The biggest talking point came in first-half stoppage time, when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) called on-pitch official Andy Madley to the monitor after Yoane Wissa appeared to pull down Brighton captain Lewis Dunk in the box.

In a rare occurrence, however, Madley stuck with his original call and gave no penalty - much to Dunk's disbelief.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

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Three games make up Wednesday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

All times BST

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Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For the midweek matches on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, he takes on UB40 drummer and Birmingham City fan Jimmy Brown.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

This should be a decent game. Brighton did well against Liverpool on Sunday but, if anything, they scored too early at Anfield, and I never really thought they would hang on.

Brentford were excellent against Manchester United and it seems strange they are on such a poor run, with only one win from their past 10 games.

I am going to back the Bees to put that right here and pull away from the relegation zone, because they are definitely too good to go down.

Ivan Toney was very good against United and unlucky not to score, and the goals are going to start flowing for him again soon.

Brown's prediction: 2-1

I like watching Brighton but I think Brentford will win.

Read the rest of their predictions here

Image source, Getty Images

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says Brighton's record profit of £122.8m in the 2022-23 financial year is "incredible" and an example of smart business.

Profit after tax increased annually by almost £100m from £24.1m, with turnover going up by 17.2% to a record £204.5m.

It is the highest profit of any club in the history of the Premier League.

"This is on the basis of a relatively low revenue stream," said Maguire on BBC Radio Sussex. "The club has been very successful in terms of player trading and it has not distorted things in terms of being successful on the pitch. The Albion finished sixth last season with a squad that cost less than any other in the Premier League.

"The philosophy and the culture of the club is to acknowledge Brighton are where they are in the pecking order of football. They do not have the resources of global brands that exist, so they have to be smarter.

"They are smarter because they go into different ponds. They have gone to Ecuador and Japan, countries where other teams are not recruiting players from, and they spot talent and bring it to the Albion. Quite often those players then go off to other clubs for huge profit.

"I do not think you can continue to make profits of £120m each year from selling players. The Albion have had two or three fantastic years, but I suspect things to settle down in a longer period of time.

"They have a model in Tony Bloom and a genius at the helm of the club. Paul Barber staying is absolutely brilliant for the club.

"From a financial point of view, their approach is far more sustainable than that of other clubs."

Hear more form Maguire on BBC Radio Sussex on BBC Sounds

Brighton's annual accounts will "catch the eye", says deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber after the club posted a profit after tax of £122.8m.

The figure - recorded across the 2022-23 season in which the Seagulls qualified for Europe and reached the FA Cup semi-final - is up from £24.1m the previous season.

Revenue for the year was £204.5m, a record for the club, and rose due to the merit payment received for finishing sixth in the Premier League and thanks to income from players sales, with names such as Alexis Mac Allister, Yves Bissouma and Marc Cucurella departing.

The sales of Moises Caicedo and Robert Sanchez will only be recognised in next year's accounts.

Barber said: "These accounts will of course catch the eye, because of the headline number. In a season when we made history on the pitch, we took a huge step forward in terms of the club’s long-held aim of becoming more sustainable and less reliant on Tony Bloom’s incredibly generous levels of investment.

“For the first time since Tony made his first interest free loan to the club back in 2007, we have been able to make a substantial re-payment to him reducing the loan balance from £406.5m to £373.3m.

“Our profitability also means we can further improve our infrastructure with a significant multi-million pound investment in a new external fan zone which, subject to planning, will be completed in summer 2024.

“We now have a very solid platform to continue to make significant progress on the pitch, by investing in our squad, and off the pitch by making the match day experience even more enjoyable for our supporters, all of which we believe will help us to continue to grow.

“The dream is to be regularly challenging for a European place and for silverware. We are very proud of Roberto, the work he and his staff have done, and of course the performance levels of our squad."

Image source, Getty Images

Paul Barber says it is a "very special time" to be part of Brighton after signing a new long-term deal with the club.

The deputy chair and chief executive, who has been with the club for 12 years, has agreed a new contract until 2030.

He joined in 2012 from MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps, having previously held senior roles at both Tottenham Hotspur and The Football Association.

During his time on the south coast, Barber has seen the club win promotion from the Championship, become established in the Premier League and qualify for European competition for the first time in their 123-year history.

Owner Tony Bloom said on the announcement: "We are delighted that Paul has agreed this long-term deal. He has overseen an incredible period for the club, and has been pivotal in our success and ongoing progress.

"We are enjoying the most successful era in the club's history and we want that progress to continue on and off the pitch. Our financial sustainability provides us with the foundation to do that.

"Paul's professionalism, drive and loyalty tied to his unquestionable ability means he is one of the most-respected senior executives in world football. We are absolutely thrilled to have him here for the long term to deliver on an exciting new vision."

Barber said: "I've loved every minute of my 12 seasons at Brighton and, while there have been many memorable moments, the achievement of European qualification has to be amongst the biggest of my career working in professional football.

"The challenge now is to continue that incredible progress and growth of the club, with our clear ambition to be regularly challenging the bigger and more-established Premier League clubs and to be competing for the European places.

"We are backed by loyal and brilliant fans — who have been through a lot in the past 25 years or so and thoroughly deserve to enjoy these better times for their club — as well as a hugely supportive wider community.

"This is already another historic season for Brighton & Hove Albion but we feel there's more we can achieve - both now and in the future - so this is not only a very special time for our fans but a very special time for all of us to be a part of this football club."

Here are the key facts and figures before Wednesday's Premier League fixture between Brentford and Brighton.

• Brentford have lost 10 of their 14 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League games (W2 D2), including all four so far this season. At home, they’ve taken just one point from 12 available in such games (D1 L3).

• Brighton have lost just one of their past seven evening kick-offs (7pm or later) in the Premier League (W2 D4). However, it was in their last such game against Luton (0-4), with the Seagulls failing to score in all three of their evening games so far in 2024 (also 0-0 draws with West Ham and Wolves).

• Brentford are winless in their past four Premier League home games (D2 L2), last having a longer run at the Gtech Community Stadium between September and November 2021 (5).

• Brighton are winless in all six of their Premier League away games against London sides this season (D2 L4), failing to score in half of those visits to the capital.

• Brighton’s Pascal Groß has provided 11 Premier League assists in games played in London – only Ryan Giggs (29), Steven Gerrard (14) and Emile Heskey (12) have provided more in the capital among players to have never played for a London side in the competition.

Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's trip to face Brentford in the Premier League (19:30 BST kick-off).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On speculation over his future at the club: "You are asking me a lot of times if I am leaving, but I am still proud to be coach at Brighton. I know I am really lucky to work with these players and to work with this club."

• He said prospective talks with majority owner and chairman Tony Bloom are "not a problem" and "part of my work", adding: “I'm very relaxed and without problems. The problems are the injured players and the preparations for the next game - not the contract or my future.”

• Forwards Joao Pedro and Julio Encisco are in contention to feature against Brentford but "it's not clear for how many minutes". However, midfielder Jack Hinshelwood will miss the rest of the season, with De Zerbi describing it as "a big miss".

• On the challenge posed by Thomas Frank's side: "They are a very good team with a very good coach. I have big respect for [Thomas] Frank. Liverpool are winning the Premier League but in terms of level of difficulty, tomorrow for us is the same, more or less. It's another tough game and to get points away we have to play one of the best games of the season."

• On the future of striker Danny Welbeck: "Danny is enjoying his best period under my time. He is important for the young players and the dressing room. Great player, great guy. We have to keep him with us for a lot of years. We want to keep him.”

Follow the rest of Tuesday's Premier League news conferences

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton says Roberto de Zerbi's comments about not deciding on his future yet is "not the right way" to keep fans on side.

The Brighton boss, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool and Bayern Munich, told Sky Sports: "I have the contract, but I want to speak with [owner] Tony Bloom and my club to understand their plan. Then we'll take the decision together."

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Sutton said: "If you are a Brighton fan then you look at some of the things he is saying and thinking he looks pretty desperate to get out.

"He is ambitious and he is probably thinking: 'We did well last season and we tried our best in Europe, but we sell our best players every year.'

"He is thinking about getting out while it is going good. We all understand that.

"I am not sure he is gone about it in the right way, though. He may as well hold a sign above his head that says: 'Come and get me!'"

• Do you think De Zerbi has a future at Brighton? Tell us here

Listen to the Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

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The New York Times' chief soccer correspondent Rory Smith says Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp's high praise for Brighton counterpart Roberto de Zerbi is because "he is a coaches' coach".

Klopp said De Zerbi did an "incredible job" of taking the game to the Reds during Albion's 2-1 defeat at Anfield on Sunday and and he "could not respect him more".

This has fuelled speculation that the Seagulls boss could be in line to succeed Klopp this summer, after Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso ruled himself out of the running for the job.

"He has a lot of tremendous qualities and his teams are a joy to watch," said Smith on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "You get the sense that he is a coaches' coach - a lot like Jurgen Klopp.

"Managers who have a distinct way of playing football look at him and his teams and think: 'That is an interesting idea.' When you have managed as many games as Klopp it must be rare to see something you have not seen before.

"De Zerbi has done that quite a lot and that is why managers really admire him."

Klopp went on to say he "can't coach the way he [De Zerbi] coaches" in the post-match interview, a comment BBC Sport pundit Micah Richards believes will help the Italian win the Reds' fans over.

"It would be a thumbs up from me," said Richards. "He could do a great job.

"There are three aspects. Has he got the passion to take on Liverpool? 100%. Has he got the tactical nouse? Yes. The only thing is, when you step to a massive club like that and you have superstars in the changing room, can you manage top-level players?

"I believe in him. He is brilliant to watch because he is tactically amazing.

"Normally managers get a lot of time at Liverpool. The only thing going against him is: how do you replace Klopp?"

Listen to the Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

Alexis Mac Allister - a great footballer and a class act.

Come full-time of Brighton's 2-1 defeat at Liverpool, he was straight over to the Anfield Road stand to acknowledge the Albion support. It was a lesson in dignity and of how to leave a football club with your reputation still intact.

The difference between Mac Allister and Robert Sanchez goading the away end at Stamford Bridge back in December, before scuttling away after being confronted by Lewis Dunk and Jan Paul van Hecke, was day and night.

If you respect Brighton as a club, the Albion fans will remember you and your achievements fondly. Something for Roberto de Zerbi to consider, perhaps?

Leading up to the Liverpool game, De Zerbi again questioned whether Tony Bloom's ambition matches his own. He also revealed that talks on a new contract have stalled because of it.

De Zerbi later added that nothing could take away the history the club made last season and his connection with supporters. The first part of that statement might be true, but he could be in for a rude awakening with the second.

Bloom has sunk half a billion pounds of his own money into turning Brighton from League One strugglers to Europa League participants.

Question him, pit yourself against him, and there is only going to be one winner in that popularity contest in the eyes of most Albion fans.

Gus Poyet found that out. His reign with Brighton is remembered as much for the acrimony in which it ended as the swashbuckling dominance of his League One champions.

Some Brighton supporters are already tiring of De Zerbi’s public griping of Bloom, his ambition and transfers. Some would even be happy to see him leave in favour of someone more appreciative of what they have at Brighton.

Whether De Zerbi stays or goes, he is in danger of tarnishing his legacy at the Albion. He deserves to depart as a Brighton great for what he has done, like Mac Allister.

Please don't ruin it, Roberto.

Scott McCarthy can be found at We Are Brighton, external

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi has not been shy in recent weeks when it comes to his current situation with the club, saying he has "not yet decided" if he will stay with the Seagulls and that he wants to know what owner Tony Bloom's plans are.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp lauded the Italian after the Reds came back to beat Albion on Sunday and there are suggestions De Zerbi could be in the running to replace the outgoing German at Anfield.

Our Brighton fan writer feels the head coach, who guided the team to European football for the first time, is in danger of tarnishing his legacy with the club.

But what do you think? Has De Zerbi still got a future at Amex Stadium?

Make your selection here

Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi is on a three-man shortlist to replace Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich. (Times - subscription required), external

Want more news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

We asked for your thoughts on Sunday's Premier League game between Liverpool and Brighton.

Here are some of your responses:

Liverpool fans

Yusuf: Up against a very well organised team. We really had to dig deep, especially after we went behind. But at this stage of the season, it's about the results, not performances, and we need to continue to dig deep from now until the end of the season. Come on Reds!

Ned: Three points is all that matters but LFC need to manage a game and defend better than that, and take more of those clear chances if they want the league title. Salah, wasteful and selfish today despite his goal.

Daniel: Comeback Kings at it again! Alexis Mac Allister, what a player! What a bargain! OK, it wasn’t our best performance by a long shot and there were times where we lacked composure and consistency. But one thing we don’t lack in is a refusal to give up. We fought to the end and ended up with three points. What a win, and further drama in the title race!

John: Manchester City have the distraction of the Champions League to contend with and Liverpool have the added determination to give Klopp the perfect going away gift of another league title to end a glittering spell as boss. His departure will also see some star players calling time on their stay and moving on, which will spur them on to a glorious finale as champions.

Brighton fans

Mark: Brighton were excellent. Phenomenal ball retention and a tremendous first goal. All of their players impressed me. It's a shame they have sold so many good players.

James: Not bad - I was hoping for another huge upset, like when we played in the cup last year and Mitoma scored in the 96th minute. It would have been nice but up the Albion!

Gaw: I thought that they played well, considering they were playing away against one of the best teams in country.

Tony: If they had their three best players - who all missed the game - I feel like Brighton would have come away with at least a draw in this one.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Sunday's two Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to Sunday's BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentary in full:

Liverpool v Brighton

Manchester City v Arsenal

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Things don't seem quite as harmonious as they could be among the Brighton power-brokers at the moment.

Roberto de Zerbi has been pretty blunt in saying what he wants if he is going to stay - greater assurances from Seagulls owner Tony Bloom about investment in more quality players.

This season, with the added Europa League games and a host of injuries to key players, Brighton have not been able to hit the same heights as last season.

Yet they are still thick in the race for European qualification, even after a defeat at Anfield which leaves them ninth.

Booking another European adventure would represent another significant achievement for De Zerbi, but will that be enough to keep him in Brghton?

With Xabi Alonso ruling himself out of replacing Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss in the summer, the odds have shortened on De Zerbi taking over at Anfield.

Even in defeat there on Sunday, De Zerbi was again lauded by Klopp and his team's performance - organised defensively but bold going forward in the right moments - impressed in what many think might have been an Anfield audition for the Italian.

Roberto de Zerbi spoke to to BBC Match of the Day after Brighton's defeat to Liverpool: "I think we played well. We played against one of the best teams in the Premier League. Especially in this moment it is tough playing against this Liverpool. They are a tough team.

"We fought in a right way, we could have scored in the last 15 minutes, we were unlucky but we can proud because we have a lot of injured players."

On Alexis Mac Allister: “We have to be proud for Alexis. He stayed with us last season and two seasons ago and we are happy for it."

On trying to secure European football: “We try to achieve it. The competition is tougher this season because we have too many problems. We find the key to improve but we hope to recover some important players and then we play like today, with the right behaviour to follow our dream and make our fans happy."

On atmosphere at Anfield: “It was incredible.”