We continue our FPL stats series by looking at the essential Brighton FPL stats from last season. This is a great accompaniment to our article on the best Brighton FPL players 2021/22.

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Essential Brighton FPL Stats | Attacking Numbers

Brighton love to attack down their right side. Last season they created the joint 2nd most chances from the right-side w/ Manchester City and Liverpool (140), only Chelsea created more (175).

Tariq Lamptey (£4.5m) seems an intriguing option once he returns from injury, but we must temper expectations for attacking returns. Brighton only scored 40 goals last season, which was 11.46 less than their expected goals (xG) of 51.46.

Only Fulham and Sheffield United had a worse xG Delta.

FPL managers are excited about Brighton this season because of their stats last season and their kind FPL fixtures (Burnley, Watford, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Norwich in the first eight Gameweeks).

The Best Brighton FPL Players 2021/22

Essential Brighton FPL Stats | Defensive Numbers

The following stats may make a Brighton triple-up seem obvious. I’d liken that call to the call of a siren; in the end, this team finished in 16th place last season.

Brighton conceded the 5th fewest chances from the right (92) and centre (88) last season. They also conceded the 3rd fewest chances from the left (84).

The Seagulls also had the 3rd lowest expected goals allowed (xGA) (35.86) last season and conceded the 3rd fewest headed goal attempts (50). Only Man City and Chelsea conceded fewer headed goal attempts than Brighton.

There are no obvious weaknesses in this defence other than their defensive production. Despite their 3rd best xGA, Brighton were only 7th best in goals conceded (46). This is 10.14 more goals conceded than expected.

Lamptey is a great rotation FPLdefender

Lamptey could be a good defensive option when he returns from injury, but attacking expectations must be tempered.

Essential Brighton FPL Stats | A Habit of Underperforming?

Worryingly, this looks like a pattern under Graham Potter. I’ve actually written about their defensive underperformance in the 19/20 season.

Back in January I identified four things that may be responsible for Brighton’s poor defensive and offensive output. Here is a revised version:

  1. Brighton had conceded the joint most penalty kicks in January (6), but they only conceded one more for the rest of the season. This stat gives us a clue about their problems defending in the box.
  2. They had two own goals this season. While own goals are highly dependent on luck, it can still expose the problems a team has defending in the box.
  3. Brighton were awarded (is that the right word?) the most red cards last season (6). This lack of discipline is due to players without the awareness (they certainly have the technical ability), to play Potter’s brand of football.The curious thing about the cards is that no goals have been conceded by Brighton as a direct result of a red card.The goals conceded in those matches came BEFORE the red card was given – Lewis Dunk (£5.0m) (CRY: 1-1), Lamptey (AVL: 1:2), and Yves Bissouma (£4.5m) (NEW: 0-3).The red cards, however, do speak to a lack of organisation and discipline in the team.
  4. Goalkeeping. Mathew Ryan was surprisingly woeful when starting the first 11 gameweeks this season, adding 4.7 xG to due to poor goalkeeping (-0.42 xG prevented per 90).Opponents scored one of every two shots on target, and Ryan conceded an avg of 1.73 goals per 90. Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) was an easy improvement, adding only 3.50 xG in 27 matches (-0.13 xGP/90).

How To Win at FPL – Using Statistics in FPL (Part 4)

 

Brighton are an enigma. It is easy to be lured by elite stats, but our eye test must inform us here as well. What we know is that they have a history of underperforming their stats. If that were to change, it should come at least as a slight surprise.

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