Brighton & Hove Albion

We asked you to come up with one thing you would change about Brighton's season so far.

Here are some of your comments:

Tim: Our failure to strengthen in the full-back positions in the summer - particularly left-back - has come back to haunt us and was our one big mistake.

Jake: The thing I'd change is the defensive strengthening back in August. Injuries show how limited we are here, especially at full-back. Better depth could have been key in getting a couple more points and avoiding calamities like the Milner v Doku mismatch at Man City. That aside, eighth after 12 games and a point off going through in Europe seems OK to me.

Robert: Being more clinical in front of goal against opponents that come to defend and hit on the counter. We’ve lost too many points this season to teams like this.

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After a couple of seasons with lots of managerial comings and goings by this stage of the campaign, some changes in the summer for clubs seem to have given some time to some teams. The three managers of the bottom sides themselves would have had a lot of credit in coming up from the Championship.

Looking at it, I think we've seen talk of managers leaving, but again, we've seen teams just wait. Bournemouth for example got a result against Burnley when possibly they might have been thinking 'do we change?'

I just think it's nice to see that clubs are giving these managers more time and not making those rash decisions, that's the most important thing, because who are you going to replace him with? If Manchester United lose to Luton, where are they going to look to change? Who would it have been? So it's nice that we're sitting and giving them a touch more time to think about the situation.

I spoke to a very experienced manager recently and he said jobs are starting to go, people are getting offered in and around, but also said, when you get to that January window is when you see a change as well. Obviously managers will believe they can go and make a difference at that time of the season.

Sometimes if you're a manager wanting to go in and change, you'd rather go in when you know you've got the chance of changing the team a bit closer to what you want. So teams have got to be pulling along and getting results until January and around that time otherwise we will inevitably start seeing some managerial changes.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

It's a strange situation the international break.

The injured players who weren't available to be called up have got no one to bounce off, it's a lonely place. When you're injured it's a lonely place anyway, but in the season you can catch players in the changing room or in the gym, but it's even worse when no one else is around. There's no one to bounce off, you realise you're injured, you realise you can't contribute and it's just a strange place.

For players who are fit but left behind, when it's only half a session and you can't get all the numbers in, you're just waiting for players to return. For teams like Liverpool and Manchester City where nearly all the team is gone there will be a week off in the building before players start coming back in dribs-and-drabs in the the few days before to build-up to the weekend games, so it's strange.

What's difficult is when you have a team like a Nottingham Forest who signed a load of new players on deadline day and then they're off and away, you can't have the two weeks you want to build up and capitalise on it. So while you want them to have international experience, you also want them around to work with them and improve.

For some players who aren't on international duty or injured, you're just looking forward to having three or four days off to go and get some sunshine, so there's many ways to go and do an international break.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Manchester United are continuing to monitor Brighton striker Evan Ferguson, despite the Republic of Ireland international recently signing a new deal with the Seagulls. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Simon Stone, BBC Sport

Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi has won himself admirers and plaudits in equal measure with his work at Amex Stadium since replacing Graham Potter.

The Italian has improved on Potter’s work and created what is acknowledged to be one of the most watchable teams in Europe.

After a tricky start to the Seagulls' first European campaign, successive wins against Ajax mean victory against AEK Athens in Greece on 30 November will confirm a place in the Europa League play-off round at least. and that would mean a meeting with a team dropping out of the Champions League (AC Milan are currently one of the clubs in third).

The lack of a Premier League win since 24 September has largely been overlooked. But De Zerbi needs to be careful.

Passion is part of his DNA. It cannot be taken away. Similarly, he has legitimate grievances over some key decisions over the past calendar year.

But he should be wary of broad brush statements that come across negatively.

De Zerbi may have been frustrated by Mahmoud Dahoud’s red card on Sunday, and also the draw with Sheffield United.

His complaints should have been identified. By coming out with such a wider statement, he looked like a bad loser. He should be better than that.

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Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele spoke to the latest episode of BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast about the Seagulls' injury list after their draw with Sheffield United: "I think that's no excuse for us. We have a really strong squad and, ultimately, it's about standing up in tough situations and we haven't done that in the past few weeks.

"We've been really good in patches. Then, at times, we haven't done enough. The break's come at a good time. Hopefully we can get some bodies back in over Christmas.

"If you're playing once a week, they [the young players in the squad] can take time to learn and bed in. We're playing every three days now and travelling to new places. We're doing well, but with the way we want to go, and the mentality, we have we need to keep demanding more."

BBC Radio Sussex's Tim Durrans added: "Skipper Lewis Dunk. James Milner and Danny Welbeck - two of their key leaders normally on a matchday. Pervis Estupinan - arguably their best player. Solly March is at the peak of his career and scoring goals. Julio Enciso - arguably the best of their young players and his goals are missing at the moment. The flashes we've seen of Tariq Lamptey this season.

"That's six players - five of those first XI starters, I'd argue. That's half a team missing. I know Jason Steele said there's no excuses, but that has to be a massive factor."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Every club has a dozen games under their belt in the Premier League.

But what’s the one thing you wish you could change about Brighton's season?

Was it a poor signing? Disharmony in the boardroom? A player sale that should never have been? Or maybe just some patchy form here and there?

Let us know here

Scott McCarthy, We Are Brighton, external

Is the Brighton bubble bursting? Has Roberto de Zerbi been found out? Are the Albion in crisis after six winless games in the Premier League?

No. No. And no.

Many Seagulls' supporters predicted in the summer that the 2023-24 season would be a challenge, even before the sales of Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo.

Most teams who qualify for Europe for the first time suffer a subsequent drop off in the following campaign as the reality of the extra workload begins to bite.

And that is fine. A frustrating 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield United is a price worth paying for nights like Thursday, when Brighton beat four-time European champions Ajax in their own back yard.

An Ajax fan I spoke to in a bar after the game said he and many other Dutch football supporters admired how Brighton had broken into the top six of the Premier League without spending billions of pounds.

When Ajax were the newly crowned European champions 28 years ago, their fans had probably never heard of Brighton – a club about to be made homeless when Bill Archer, Greg Stanley and David Bellotti sold the Goldstone Ground.

Now, here was one singing the praises of the Albion. It was a mad conversation to be having.

Brighton could finish 16th this season and I really would not care. Give me a bottom half placing and trips to Amsterdam, Marseille and Athens over back-to-back ninth placings with no European football.

Nobody will remember finishing ninth in 30 years time, but nobody will ever forget what happened in Amsterdam. These are the greatest times to support the Albion – even in the midst of a barren run of form.

Brighton have brought striker Evan Ferguson in line with other top earners at the club with his new six-year contract. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories and gossip? Read Tuesday's full column

We asked for your views on Sunday's game between Brighton and Sheffield United.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Alan: Roberto de Zerbi keeps making so many changes to the line up, blaming the amount of games that we are playing. How can we get consistency and results with all these changes? Look at Aston Villa’s results and compare how many team alterations they make.

Deck: Typical Brighton performance. All very clever and intricate but very little end product. Far too much faffing about at the back and losing the ball. They are incredibly frustrating to watch as nothing ever changes. I am pleased I’m away for a couple of matches.

Reuben: We should have scored at least four or five in the first half. Very disappointing that we drew to bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United.

Peter: We do need to be able to finish teams off. If Simon Adingra had taken his chances in the first half, we’d have been home and hosed but, by giving a goal away (and a very harsh red card) we were all of a sudden, chasing the game again.

Sheffield United fans

Eric: Well done, dug in and got a result. All seemed to be playing for each other. Good all-round performance.

Phil: The four points are merely papering over the cracks. The performances have been limp, negative and pathetic. Tactics are nothing more than stick everyone behind the ball and that's it. If we get the ball, then there's no tactics or guidance from the touchline. If we're going down, at least go down with fight and pride. Heckingbottom needs to go.

Stephen: Good point but should not leave it to the second half to start playing with any conviction. Shows promise for the season when Oli McBurnie, John Egan and Anel Ahmedhodzic come back from injury.

Neil: We just don't seen to learn. Last week we played badly in the first half against Wolves then in the second half we played like Sheffield Utd should play like. Against Brighton we did the same again. When Ozzy came on, that gave us a spark and we played like Bladesmen.

Mark Chapman introduces highlights and analysis of Sunday's five Premier League fixtures.

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

And Match of the Day brings you a round-up of Saturday's five games here.

Listen to Sunday's commentaries here:

Liverpool 3-0 Brentford

Chelsea 4-4 Manchester City

• Brighton haven’t won any of their last six games in the Premier League (D4 L2) – this is now their longest winless run in the competition under Roberto De Zerbi, overtaking a five-game run without a victory in October 2022 (D2 L3).

• After beating Wolves and drawing today, Sheffield United have avoided defeat in back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since July 2020 under Chris Wilder (a run of four – W3 D1).

• Three of Sheffield United's 10 goals in the Premier League this season have been own goals scored by the opposition (Jordan Pickford, Antonee Robinson and Adam Webster), with no side benefitting from more own goals so far this term (3).

• This was Brighton’s 240th Premier League match today, and only the second time they’ve both scored an own goal (Adam Webster) and had a player sent off (Mahmoud Dahoud) in the same game.

• Brighton’s Mahmoud Dahoud was sent off in a match in Europe’s big-five leagues for just the second time in his career, on what was his 170th such appearance (previously v Borussia Mönchengladbach in September 2021).

Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi: "There were two games - one until the red card and the second game with 10 players.

"In the first one we deserved to win with more goals but for our mistakes the result was only 1-0. Then with 10 players we could have defended better, with more order.

"I think our quality of play was very good but if you play like we did for the first 70 minutes you have to close the game and score two or three or four goals, not only one."

Michael Beardmore, BBC Sport

Brighton have enough problems at the moment without adding self-inflicted ones to the list.

Balancing the demands of domestic and European is a tightrope at the best of times but a seemingly never-ending run of injuries is plaguing Brighton too.

Despite that, they appeared to have plenty in reserve to beat Sheffield United after a totally one-sided opening hour that should have yielded more than one goal.

But their wastefulness in front of goal and, at times, a lack of urgency in such positions, perhaps believing the game was already in the bag, was compounded by Mahmoud Dahoud's awful challenge on Ben Osborn.

In the end, they were grateful for a point but three successive draws against Everton, Fulham and, now, the Blades, feel like a backward step for Roberto De Zerbi's side.

They do have the international break coming up which should help in terms of bringing players back to fitness but there's no guarantee of returning to winning ways with a trip to a Nottingham Forest side very strong at home next up.

Sheffield United moved off the foot of the Premier League table by coming from behind to claim a point at 10-man Brighton.

The Seagulls led for much of the game through Simon Adringa's wonderful early opener but were left to rue a failure to convert their dominance into further goals.

Brighton remain eighth while the Blades move above Burnley, and off bottom spot for the first time since their 8-0 thumping by Newcastle on 24 September, but are still four points from safety.

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

Brighton fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Blades fans?

Follow all the reaction here

Image source, BBC

There are five games being played out in the Premier League on Sunday and we'll bring you every moment.

Follow all the action and reaction here

Live match commentaries:

• Liverpool v Brentford - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Chelsea v Manchester City - BBC Radio 5 Live

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

This week, he takes on two Manchester City fans - frontman and guitarist Tom Ogden and drummer Joe Donovan from indie band Blossoms - and a Chelsea supporter - Madness frontman Suggs.

Sutton's prediction: 3-0

Brighton's issue this season is the demands of European football on their squad - they beat Ajax in Amsterdam on Thursday night, so it will affect them again here.

Sheffield United will be buzzing after getting their first win of the season, against Wolves last week. Their gameplan here will be to sit in and try to frustrate the Seagulls, but I don't think they will keep Roberto de Zerbi's side quiet.

I wasn't sure whether to give the Blades a goal, because of Brighton's defensive record - they did not keep a clean sheet in any of their first 11 games of the season, so maybe this is the day they manage it.

Tom's prediction: 3-0

Joe's prediction: 2-0

Suggs' prediction: 1-0

Read the rest of their predictions here

Roberto de Zerbi has been speaking to the media before Brighton's Premier League match against Sheffield United on Sunday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• De Zerbi confirmed that Lewis Dunk, James Milner and Pervis Estupinan are all set to miss this weekend's match.

• He added: "The injuries are a terrible situation, but we can't change anything. We have to focus on the game on Sunday, it's one of the most important this season."

• He feels Evan Ferguson, who signed a new contract on Friday, still "needs time to grow confidence and play" and added: "He's not complete as a striker yet. There is room for improvement but we're lucky to have him in our team."

• On facing Sheffield United, he said: "We need our fans. We need their support on Sunday to win the game. If we win, I think we can reach a different level. It'll be a very tough game, Sheffield United are a very good team. We have to play very well with quality and attitude."

• He said he is "very proud" of their win away to Ajax on Thursday in the Europa League and added: "We are fighting, we are second in our Europa League group and seventh in Premier League. We lost three important players in the summer and we're playing three games a week. It's a tough season, but we are fighting."

• On playing in Europe alongside the league this season, he said: "When you aren't used to the Europa League, you need to focus on the next game. We have to win in the Premier League."

• He added: "Clean sheets are an important part of football, but we have to analyse better because we couldn't keep a clean sheet a lot of times this season."

• On the importance of using the squad, he said: "Jan Paul van Hecke is an important player for us, Webster as well, and Billy Gilmour is becoming an important midfielder. To reach different levels we have to keep pushing as a team and as players."

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• Brighton have both scored and conceded in their opening 11 Premier League games this season. Liverpool were the last side to do that in their opening 12 top-flight matches of a campaign - in 1966- 67.

• Sheffield United got their first league win of the season last weekend against Wolves. The Blades haven't won consecutive top-flight matches since July 2020 - and that was the last time they avoided defeat in back-to-back games, with this their 53rd fixture since then.

• Brighton completed 778 passes in their 1-1 draw with Everton, the most by a team in an away Premier League game since May 2021 (871, Manchester City at Newcastle United). Since Roberto de Zerbi’s first game in charge last October, Brighton are second for successful passes (22,292), average possession (62.2%) and accuracy of passing (87.4%) in the top flight, behind Manchester City in all three categories.

• Sheffield United have lost 23 of their past 26 Premier League away games (W2 D1), including all five this season - and they were the last side to lose their first six matches on the road in the top flight (in 2020-21 under Chris Wilder.

• Oliver Norwood’s winning penalty for Sheffield United against Wolves was timed at 99 minutes and 17 seconds, the third-latest winning Premier League goal on record (since 2006-07).