Brighton and Hove Albion 2026/27 Season Preview

Brighton and Hove Albion 2026/27 Season Preview

Where Did Brighton Finish Last Season?

The Seagulls finished a respectable 8th place last season, Fabian Hurzeler guiding them to their second best finish since promotion in 2017. They confirmed their place in the UEFA Conference League (UECL), this being just the second time the club have qualified for European football, the first being three years ago in the Europa League (UEL).

The season certainly had its ups and downs. Brighton enjoying their best spell of the season in the run in, winning seven in 10 which helped secure European football despite them stumbling over the line with defeats to Leeds and Manchester United in the penultimate and final game of the season.

However, there were plenty of calls for the sacking of Hurzeler, myself included, especially over the dreaded winter period as Brighton fans will call it. The Albion managed to win just once in 13 league games with the worst of the lot being a 1-0 defeat at home to rivals, Crystal Palace. Chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” came from all corners of the stadium as boos rang out at full time.

Facing the boos pic.twitter.com/SXNxBTOwql

— Brett Mendoza💙 (@BrettMendoza_) February 8, 2026

Alas, Fabian certainly turned it around, winning the hearts back of Brighton fans as he granted the wishes of another season of European Football. As well as dropping one of the coldest quotes of the season back in January...

🚨🎙️ Fabian Hürzeler:

“In the end we all get judged by the results but I can promise by the end of the season we’ll be where we want to be…

I see the group working hard. I will take the responsibility for that, for the performances, for the results.”#bhafc pic.twitter.com/6Wc54ZW9iC

— Brighton Bubble (@BrightonBubble) January 30, 2026

With Brighton’s UECL Play Off tie fast approaching, being announced that they will either face CFR Cluj or Tromsø, some reinforcements are still needed if the Seagulls want sufficient depth going into the new season. Having reinforced the defence, the attack is now looking thin in some areas. With the highly controversial exit of Danny Welbeck, the striker position is looking a lot more shaky than it did two weeks ago.

The 26/27 season could go either way for Brighton, on one hand you can see them pushing on past the UECL and onto the UEL and maybe even the Champions League (UCL) places. But on the other hand, the added games (hopefully) might cause them to regress just like they did last time the club were in Europe.

Best Result: Brighton 3-0 Chelsea (Kadioglu 3’; Hinshelwood 56’; Welbeck 90+1’).

Worst Result: Brighton 0-1 Crystal Palace (Sarr 61’).

Who Have Brighton Signed in the Summer Transfer Window So Far?

Incoming

Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham – £46 million

Zadok Yohanna from AIK – £24 million

Promise David from Union Saint-Gilloise - Loan with £22 Million Obligation to Buy

Pascal Struijk from Leeds – £20 million

Femi Azeez from Millwall - £15 Million

Costinha from Olympiacos – £11 million

Jaouen Hadjam from Young Boys - £10.3 Million

Michael Svoboda from Venezia – £4.3 million

Matias Orozco from Deportivo Cali - £3.5 Million

Rodrigo Rego from Benfica – £3 million

Total Spent: £159.1 million

Outgoing

Carlos Baleba to Manchester United - £70 Million

Jan Paul Van Hecke to Tottenham – £52 million

Carl Rushworth to Coventry - £22 million

Diego Coppola to Paris FC – £15 million

Danny Welbeck to Chelsea – £5 million

Jeremy Sarmiento to Middlesbrough – £3.4 million

Igor Julio to Burnley - £3 Million

Caylan Vickers to Burton Albion - Undisclosed

Do-Young Yoon to FC Magdeburg – Season-Long Loan

James Beadle to Birmingham – Season-Long Loan

Eiran Cashin to Derby County - Season-Long Loan

Amario Cozier-Duberry to Middlesbrough - Season-Long Loan

Rodrigo Rego to Castellon – [Season-Long Loan]((https://x.com/OfficialBHAFC/status/2078419514157302074)

Nils Ramming to Rochdale – (Season-Long Loan)[https://x.com/officiallydale/status/2078087318020423800)

Mark O'Mahoney to Burton Albion - Season-Long Loan

Brajan Gruda to RB Leipzig – (Season-Long Loan)[https://x.com/Plettigoal/status/2074538399160029539]

Harry Howell to Leicester City - Season-Long Loan

Freddie Simmonds to AFC Wimbledon - Season-Long Loan

Charlie Tasker to Rochdale - Season-Long Loan

Tom Watson to Leicester City – [Season-Long Loan](https://x.com/OfficialBHAFC/status/2083606816026431792

Kamari Doyle to Leicester City - Season-Long Loan

Facundo Buonanotte to Elche - Season-Long Loan

Joel Veltman – Released

Adam Webster – Released

Solly March – Released

James Milner – Retired

Total Received: £170.4 million

Brighton and Hove Albion 2026/27 Squad List

Goalkeepers: Bart Verbruggen, Jason Steele, Tom McGill

Defenders: Lewis Dunk, Olivier Boscagli, Ferdi Kadioglu, Maxim De Cuyper, Pascal Struijk, Joao Costinha, Jaouen Hadjam, Luka Vuskovic, Michael Svoboda

Midfielders: Jack Hinshelwood, Diego Gomez, Yasin Ayari, Mats Wieffer, Pascal Gross, Matt O’Riley, Malick Yalcouye, Matias Orozco

Attackers: Kaoru Mitoma, Stefanos Tzimas, Promise David, Femi Azeez, Georginio Rutter, Yankuba Minteh, Charalampos Kostoulas, Zadok Yohanna, Evan Ferguson, Ibrahim Osman

Brighton and Hove Albion 2026/27 Home, Away and Third Kits

Home Kit

Past & Future. Our 26/27 @NikeFootball home kit! 🔥

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) July 8, 2026

Away Kit

Albion & away days. 🤍 Our @NikeFootball away kit! ✨

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) July 8, 2026

Third Kit

We're delighted to unveil our @NikeFootball third kit for the new season, available online now! 🙌

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 5, 2026

What is Brighton and Hove Albion’s Opening Premier League Fixture?

Brighton vs Aston Villa | AMEX, Falmer | Sunday, August 23rd, 14:00

How Can I Watch Brighton vs Aston Villa?

TV coverage for the game is yet to be announced.

What Are Brighton’s First Five Fixtures?

• CFR Cluj/Tromsø vs Brighton – Thursday, August 20th.

• Brighton vs Aston Villa - Sunday, August 23rd.

• Brighton vs CFR Cluj/Tromsø – Thursday, August 27th.

• Chelsea vs Brighton - Sunday, August 30th.

• Brighton vs Leeds – Saturday, September 5th.

When Do Brighton Play Rivals Crystal Palace in the 2026/27 season?

Brighton have struggled massively in this fixture of the last number of seasons. Since taking over as manager in 2024, Hurzeler is yet to beat Palace as Oliver Glasner got the better of the German on three separate occasions. With the Austrian now at Nottingham Forest has the tide finally turned for Brighton in this fixture?

• Brighton vs Crystal Palace | AMEX | Saturday, 17th October

• Crystal Palace vs Brighton | Selhurst Park | Saturday, 15th May

Last Five Meetings:

• 08/02/26: Brighton 0-1 Crystal Palace (Premier League)

• 09/11/25: Crystal Palace 0-0 Brighton (Premier League)

• 05/04/25: Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton (Premier League)

• 15/12/24: Brighton 1-3 Crystal Palace (Premier League)

• 03/02/24: Brighton 4-1 Crystal Palace (Premier League)

Who is Brighton and Hove Albion’s Manager for the 2026/27 season?

The youngest ever Premier League manager, Fabian Hurzeler, is the man in charge. The German at just 33 years old is taking charge for his third season. After taking over the reigns at St Pauli in December of 2022, he caught the eyes of Brighton as he guided them to promotion to the Bundesliga in 2024 after they spent 13 years in the 2. Bundesliga. He boasted an impressive 65% win rate at the German club which was enough for Brighton to swoop in and bring in to replace previous manager, Roberto De Zerbi.

In his time at Brighton, Fabian has suffered a lot but has also shown signs of a top class manager. Such as finishing unbeaten vs Pep and delivering Brighton's second best Premier League finish, or getting battered 7-0 against Nottingham Forest. Swings and roundabouts am I right? When comparing De Zerbi’s first 70 games and Hurzeler’s, Hurzeler comes out on top in nearly ever category. More wins, points, draws, clean sheets and goals against, less losses and the only category where De Zerbi’s Brighton beats Hurzeler’s is in goals scored.

🔵 Two very different managers. Same number of PL games in charge of Albion. One emerges on top.

❓ Has Fabian Hurzeler taken Brighton even further on than tomorrow's opponent Roberto De Zerbi?

🔊 Have your say on the Weekend Warm-Up at 6: https://t.co/8ce9TWa0CK#BHAFC pic.twitter.com/eDERAQyCiy

— BBC Sport Sussex (@BBCSussexSport) April 17, 2026

Hurzeler has the chance to do what De Zerbi couldn’t, which is to push on to bigger things while also fighting in Europe. As Brighton are in the UECL Hurzeler also has the opportunity to bring home the clubs first ever piece of silverware and cement himself in Albion history. With the backing and patience of Tony Bloom and co, I’m sure he believes he can take the club to the next level.

Who is Brighton and Hove Albion’s Player to Watch?

Charalampos Kostoulas

I’ve chosen perhaps a more rogue shout for Brighton’s player to watch for the upcoming season. With Welbeck’s departure there is now a big hole to fill up top and the 19 year old Greek could have a true breakout season.

He signed last summer from Olympiacos for £30 million, which is a record sale from a Greek club. He featured 21 times for the Albion in the Premier League but only amounted to two starts. He certainly had some highlights however, finding the back of the net on two occasions. Scoring his debut Brighton goal at Old Trafford with a beautiful guided header into the far corner, and his second goal, well who can forget this one. A 90th minute overhead kick to rescue a point against Bournemouth, I remember watching it at the AMEX completely starstruck.

🇬🇷⭐ 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | Charalampos Kostoulas (18) has won the Brighton Goal of the Month award. 😍🥇 pic.twitter.com/yLuP8A1Ubz

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) February 21, 2026

It’s a huge ask for such a young and raw player to replicate what Welbeck has done over these last two seasons, but it’s certainly possible. It’s very clear to see how much talent Kostoulas possesses, myself and all Brighton fans can hope he takes the next step in his development and potentially make the striker position his for the foreseeable future.

Brighton and Hove Albion 2026/27 Season Prediction

There are so many different variables to think of when trying to predict how Brighton’s season will play out. Losing Van Hecke, Welbeck as well as countless senior figures within the squad might have an impact on performances. On top of the potential extra European games across the course of the season to think about (Brighton please don’t screw up the play off tie).

The response to the departures have typically been shrewd business rather than any sort of panic buying. The defence has been bolstered heavily with three CB’s coming through the door as well as a right back. However as mentioned previously, the attack remains thin in areas. The incoming of Zadok Yohanna is an exciting one but more cover up top and on the left is needed. With little time to go until the season kicks off, the board better have a plan if they want the club to expand on last season.

We saw just three years ago what the added European games did to the squad with the amount of injuries that kept piling up which led to finishing a measly 11th. This is something the club will want to avoid and instead of taking one step back, to take one step forward. The opportunity to win the first bit of silverware has never been more alive than it will be this season. Watching Palace win three trophies in the space of a year has only hurt the fans more and they’ll be desperate to replicate what that lot did when they were in the UECL last season.

As a Brighton fan I’d like to think optimistically but also I have to think realistically. With the lack of attacking options in certain areas, and especially if they aren’t sorted by the end of the transfer window, I just can’t see anyway Brighton will improve on last season, but I would love to be proven wrong. I expect them to go far in the UECL and will definitely be in with a shout to win it all, as they should be. I expect league regression but nothing too damaging, similar to what we saw in the 2023/24 season.

Football Park’s Prediction: 11th