Sussex

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

After superb seasons in 2025-26, Brighton and Aston Villa begin what promise to be intriguing campaigns for both at Amex Stadium on Sunday (14:00 BST).

The Seagulls finished last term strongly, snatching a place in the Conference League as a result. While there is excitement about another continental adventure, it has been a busy summer of transfer activity for head coach Fabian Hurzeler to contend with.

The same can be said for Aston Villa, who will play Champions League football this term after their top-five finish and Europa League triumph. Head coach Unai Emery has lost a host of experienced players though, and replacing them will be a major test of his coaching acumen and the club's recruitment strategy.

Brighton rebuild at the back

For Brighton, the big challenge this season will be retaining their edge in both penalty boxes.

Danny Welbeck, who joined Chelsea for £5m this summer, will be a big loss from an attacking perspective. No Seagulls player has scored more in a Premier League campaign than the 13 goals he netted in 2025-26.

There has been a significant restructure in defence, though. After losing Jan Paul van Hecke to Tottenham, Brighton have splashed the cash on Luka Vuskovic from Spurs and Pascal Struijk from Leeds United, and also added Costinha and Michael Svoboda as defensive cover.

Van Hecke was crucial to the way in which the team played and replacing his work in possession could prove trickier than replicating his defensive influence.

Brighton tend to start seasons well, though, winning four and drawing one of their last five Premier League openers. By contrast, Villa have won just two of their last seven since returning to the top flight after being promoted from the Championship in 2020.

Changing of the guard at Villa?

Villa's summer transfer activity will not make it any easier to get off to a fast start, albeit there will be excitement about the business done.

In Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne and Ezri Konsa, Emery has lost some core members behind the team's success in recent seasons. Meanwhile Emiliano Martinez and Ollie Watkins have also been linked with moves away.

Players like Johan Manzambi and Joao Gomes should go some way to plugging the gaps left by those who have moved on. But there is no doubt that Villa have a leadership and experience void to plug.

There will also be hope that some youngsters can help ease the transition. In the Super Cup, 17-year-old striker Brian Madjo caught the eye with a goal against Paris St-Germain – he became the youngest player to score for Aston Villa since Louie Barry netted against Liverpool in the FA Cup in January 2021 – while George Hemmings is also expected to play a more significant role in the coming weeks.

With plenty of transfer business still likely to be done at Villa Park and Emery's penchant for giving new arrivals time to bed in, both could be thrust into the Premier League action at the Amex.

Grace Wheeler
BBC Sport

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Aston Villa at American Express Stadium (kick-off 14:00).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• The boss gave us an update on his team news, he said: "Carlos [Baleba] and [Yankuba] Minteh, they won't be available. Then Kaoru [Mitoma] is still in his rehab, Stefanos Tzimas is still in his rehab, so therefore I think these four players, they will miss out. Besides that, we have no new injuries."

• Hurzeler spoke about the rumours linking Brighton midfielder Baleba with a move to Manchester United: "He is our player and I will never comment on any rumours that are currently in the media. It's also something I definitely can't control."

• On his players being linked with moves, he added: "There are rumours about the important players for us because they were a big part of the journey the last two years, but in football you all have to understand that it's normal if you're successful as a team, if the team is doing well, there's some good achievements then the individual can shine and then of course there will be a big ask for players. That's part of our identity, that's part of my job here. We also know that good achievements, big achievements, especially in the Premier League, you create offers, you create a lot of attention and so therefore we have to wait now."

• Hurzeler said changes across the Premier League mean his side must be well prepared, adding: "It will be very unpredictable, so we need to have a good start, we need to do the basic things right. I think this will be the key, that we know what is our foundation, what we need to be successful in the Premier League and hopefully we can manage it from the first second."

• On what to expect from the signing Promise David: "He is a great and very positive character. I think that's the first impression. Second of all, a goalscorer. He has goals in his body and in his mind and that's something that we definitely wanted to have. Today he will have his first session on the pitch with the boys and then hopefully he might be already involved against Villa."

• The Brighton boss is keen to evolve and become comfortable across competitions, stating: "We can learn from having more games, that we can grow into these moments where we play in several competitions. So that's what the club wants to do."

• He added: "That's what in general we see as a club as the next step. Hopefully we can qualify next week and then we're really looking forward for playing in several competitions. That means also new new challenges but we feel ready for that."

• The transfer deadline window is not over yet but Hurzeler seems content with the players he has: "I'm really happy with the squad. I love to work with the players we have and of course there are a lot of rumours at the moment, a lot of different circumstances, but me as a coach, I can only focus on that what I can control that's preparing."

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Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton secured a place in the Conference League by finishing eighth last season but with some better finishing, they could – and arguably should – have finished slightly higher.

Defensively the Seagulls were one of the best in the league. They conceded the fewest goals outside of the top two, while they also impressively ranked sixth for shots faced and fifth for expected goals against.

The attack was not quite so impressive, although they still ranked in the top half for both shots and xG. But, despite only five teams creating better chances on average, only five were worse at converting them.

As a result, the Seagulls scored six goals fewer than expected given the chances they had, with 52 scored from 57.8 xG – only four teams underperformed their xG by more.

If they can fix their finishing while maintaining their all-round performance from last season, then Fabian Hurzeler's men should have a strong campaign.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Thursday's Conference League play-off first leg between Tromso and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

Jon: First game of the season against a much fitter team and draw away from home - I think we should be content with that. We have to feel quietly confident for the home tie.

Chris: Looks like we've continued the end of last season with a poor showing in the final third against Tromso. Same goal-shy issues and chances wasted. The Villa game on Sunday now looks worrying.

Phil: Apart from attempts by Georginio Rutter and Ibrahim Osman, Brighton's shots on goal were no better than the average professional player - hit way too high over the bar. They dominated, but faced a well drilled defence. In that situation, something different and surprising needed to be tried. I doubt it will play out any different in the home leg, and I'm worried Tromso will win with the proverbial sucker punch.

Pete: Tricky first game with everything to lose away from home on an artificial pitch 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle! Goalless draw is not the worst result but the Seagulls will have to be sharp at the Amex next week and try and dominate early on.

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler after a goalless leg in the Seagulls' Europa Conference League play-off: "I think we controlled the game but we weren't quick enough in possession. We still had a few opportunities, but I think overall Tromso defended well."

On Tromso's performance: "They had two big chances after transition moments [where] we have to defend better. Overall [they were] a tough opponent which is what we expected. I think we expected exactly how Tromso played. They defended well, very compact. They had a lot of players in their box who blocked the shots well, and they had a really good goalkeeper and were good in transition. We created opportunities, but in the end we have to be satisfied with a draw, although it's not the result we hoped for."

On the second leg at the Amex next Thursday: "Now we are looking forward to the opportunity to win the game in front of our own fans. There are certain aspects we have to improve against Tromso. Overall, like I said, they are a good football team so we will have to play on our highest level to win the game at the Amex."

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

In the Premier League last season, 13 of the 20 teams finished with between 40 and 60 points - the most in an English top-flight campaign since 2003-04 (also 13).

Was the Premier League so competitive in 2025-26 because the quality of the 'lesser' teams got better or the top teams got worse? It is hard to know for sure.

Given how savvy clubs like Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth are, the vast amounts of money that enable even bottom-half sides to sign the best talent from abroad and the Premier League's current dominance of the Europa League and Conference League, it would seem to be the former.

However, the fact that promoted play-off winners Sunderland were able to finish above 13 teams in their first season back suggests the league was maybe not as strong as we think.

What we do know is that whether because they got worse or their opponents got better, four of the sides that finished in the top seven in 2024-25 - champions Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest - took 79 points fewer between them last season.

While Forest's decline was perhaps expected given their incredible seventh-place finish in 2024-25 and their journey to the Europa League semi-finals last season, the others were far more surprising.

Sunderland and Leeds smashed the recent run of promoted sides struggling to compete by taking 64 more points than the teams they replaced in the top flight.

As a result, this season will be a bit of an upside-down one in that Bournemouth, Brighton and Sunderland have European campaigns to navigate while Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle do not.

Will we therefore see a bounce-back to the more 'traditional' order in 2026-27 or are we truly entering a new, fiercely-competitive era of the Premier League?

Read more on the Premier League's competitiveness

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