Premier League 2019/20: 3 early favourites for relegation

#3 Brighton and Hove Albion

Can Graham Potter keep Brighton up again?

Many fans felt that Brighton did well to stay in the Premier League after their debut season there in 2017/18, so for the Seagulls to survive again in 2018/19 was an impressive feat indeed. Unfortunately, their season wasn’t exactly impressive – they won just 3 of their last 23 games and secured survival by just 2 points, a run which cost boss Chris Hughton his job.

A lot of the issues with Brighton last season came from their lack of goals; new signing Alireza Jahanbakhsh failed to score a single goal and they only managed a total of 35 all season, 13 of which came from veteran striker Glenn Murray, who at aged 35, is getting no younger.

Brighton have also taken a big risk in their new managerial appointment; Graham Potter brings an excellent reputation with him from his work in Sweden with Ostersund, a side that he helped to climb through two divisions into the Swedish top flight. But while that’s all well and good – and Potter’s style of football was to play an attractive passing game – Swedish football isn’t close to the same level as the game in England.

And in reality, Potter’s single season at Swansea wasn’t all that impressive; the Swans only finished 10th last season after spending a decent amount of money following their Premier League relegation and lost nearly as many games as they won while also shipping 62 goals.

Potter might surprise people yet – since he moved to Brighton the club have signed Leandro Trossard for £18 million in an attempt to strengthen their side – but the truth is that they struggled last season and probably need a new striker, and unless they find one it’s hard to see them avoiding a relegation battle in 2019/20 too.