Brighton and Hove Albion dealing with a tough start to the Premier League programme

Can Brighton and Hove Albion get their season back on track with a win against Southampton on Monday evening? Having just been beaten 1-0 by Saints in their League Cup fixture at the Amex Stadium just over two weeks ago, the Seagulls will be keen to get back to winning ways.

Chris Hughton’s men had a bad start to the season, going down 2-0 away to Watford on the opening day. However, in retrospect, Watford are having a dream opening, being one of the only three Premiership sides to have taken all three points from their first four games.

The Albion’s second game saw a hard-earned 3-2 victory at home to Manchester United. Next, losing 1-0 away to Liverpool was no disgrace; in fact, with many pundits fancying Liverpool’s chances of beating Manchester City to the Premiership crown, it was a decent result.

Their fourth league fixture, at home to newly-promoted Fulham, where they earned themselves a 2-2 draw was also laudable.

But with their sixth game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur at the Amex Stadium being followed by champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, Brighton have been given a tough opening to this seasons programme, coming up against four of the teams most talked about for lifting Premier League honours.

So, the next match the Albion play against Southampton is going to be key. A draw will suffice, but three points would give their season much-needed points from their difficult opening. For their part, Saints have a full squad to choose from with Charlie Austin, Jan Bednarek and Shane Long all expected to be available.

With two tough games looming for Brighton, the game against Saints is a golden opportunity to add to their points tally. But, as goalkeeper Maty Ryan said in a recent interview with the Brighton and Hove Independent, the Albion have fallen short in his opinion.

Ryan said that the team must learn from their mistakes but also keep on doing the things they are doing right. He stated that Albion should be aiming at making the Amex a fortress again as it was last season when they only lost four of their home league matches.

Of course, the next game against Southampton is an away fixture. But it is eminently winnable, and that is what Brighton must strive for. Both teams have got four points from the opening four games and they are only separated by goal difference.

Saints’ manager Mark Hughes will not make the mistake of underrating the Albion. He has enormous respect for Hughton, saying that he has done a first-class job since his appointment in December 2014.

On becoming manager, Hughton first secured Brighton’s position in the Championship. The following year he saw his club narrowly miss out on promotion to the Premiership when they finished third. They remedied that in the next season and have now established themselves as a viable Premier League club.

For Albion’s game against Saints on Monday, Hughton is considering giving Romanian Florin Andone his first run out for his new club at senior level.

The ex-Deportivo La Coruna forward, who was signed in the summer for a reported £5.25m, is earmarked to play for the under-23s on Friday. If he remains injury free, he could well be included in the side to play against Southampton.