Is Brighton suffering from Europa League fatigue?

Premier League sides often find that focusing solely on their league matches can benefit them throughout the season. When you are facing top-quality opposition every week, being able to rest your best players is beneficial.

In addition, head coaches get the chance to train the players all week instead of having to prepare for an extra match in between.

One team that is discovering the challenges of playing in Europe this season is Brighton and Hove Albion. The seaside club found themselves in the Europa League after an impressive last campaign.

However, whether Brighton can maintain a similar league position at the end of the 2023-2024 Premier League season remains to be seen. Below is our analysis of how the Europa League curse may impact Roberto De Zerbi’s team.

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Potter departs & De Zerbi arrives
The 2022-2023 season was extremely eventful for Brighton fans – in positive and negative ways. When the season began strongly for Albion, they were among the favorites on online sports betting sites for teams finishing in the top four or six of the Premier League.

Within a few weeks of the campaign, however, Chelsea sacked their boss, Thomas Tuchel, and wanted Graham Potter as his replacement.

Potter was in charge of Brighton then, but he quickly agreed to the move. Not only did Potter leave for Chelsea midseason, but he also took his entire backroom staff.

Brighton, who were left with no first-team coaches, were watching a promising start to the season unravel. The club was fortunate in that Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi was available. Securing De Zerbi allowed the team to bring in a new coach who had a similar philosophy to Potter.

Last season’s impressive finish
Roberto De Zerbi came into Brighton with a very modest reputation. While he had been successful at smaller clubs in Italy, there was very little expectation of how he would fare in the Premier League. The Italian surprised everyone, improving Brighton from their inconsistent levels under Potter.

While the Albion had been on an upward trajectory under Potter, they also went through long spells in seasons when they would not win games. Such runs of four, five, or six games without a win were commonplace but were quickly rooted out by De Zerbi.

De Zerbi set challenging demands for his players, expecting them to show their best form in every game. The squad responded, with the club’s attackers becoming more prolific than at any stage during Potter’s spell in charge.

De Zerbi’s attacking style brought out the best in the team, with Brighton finishing the season in sixth place in the Premier League. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

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Outgoing transfers impact the club
The most pressing issues for Brighton going into the off-season didn’t involve signing new players but rather holding onto their stars.

Bids were coming in for nearly every top player, while defender Levi Colwill had returned to Chelsea after a successful loan spell.

Despite their best efforts, Brighton had to sell Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo to other teams. Mac Allister went to Liverpool, while a protracted transfer saga saw Caicedo eventually sign for Chelsea.

Losing these two players has impacted De Zerbi’s team, as they have found it challenging to fill such a significant void in the center of their midfield. While other players have stepped up, the quality of Mac Allister and Caicedo would be challenging for any team to replace.

The Europa League takes centre stage
Aside from losing their two best players from last season, Brighton also has extra games this season. They are in the Europa League, which has proven challenging for the English.

While they are improving in Europe, having won their most recent game, they’re finding it tough to balance domestic duties with midweek Europa League games.

Not only do some players have to play twice a week, but coach De Zerbi also has less time on the training pitch to instill his tactics into the team. However, the question remains whether the Europa League curse will impact the team as the season continues.

The team will have the January transfer window to strengthen the squad, which could bring in the reinforcements that De Zerbi needs to rotate his starting lineups effectively.

Source: Alexander Nadrilyanski via Pexels

Brighton is suffering from having to play in the Europa League this season compared to last term. There is no denying this, as the team has lost games due to fatigue and suffered many serious injuries.

Whether the Europa League curse will cause them to finish lower than last season in the Premier League remains to be seen. Despite their blips this term, Brighton is still in seventh position in the table.

They are only one spot below their finish last season. Considering playing in the Europa League and losing the likes of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, Brighton is still having a decent season