# 2018–19 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season

The 2018–19 season is Brighton & Hove Albion's 117th year in existence and second consecutive season in the Premier League. Along with competing in the Premier League, the club also participated in the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
The season covers the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.
Brighton beat Manchester United at home for the second season running on 19 August 2018. The game finished 3–2 to the Albion. On 4 May 2019 Brighton's Premier League status was confirmed for a third season after bitter rivals Crystal Palace beat Cardiff 3–2 in Wales. This confirmation came exactly a year after The Seagulls secured their safety in the 2017–18 season.
In the FA Cup Brighton made the semi-final where they lost to Manchester City 1–0 at Wembley. In the EFL Cup Brighton lost 1–0 to Southampton at home in the second round.
On 10 May 2019 it was announced that captain, Bruno would be retiring from football. In his last game Brighton lost 4–1 to Manchester City. As a result City defended their Premier League title.
Brighton sacked manager Chris Hughton on 13 May, one day after the final game of the season, due to a poor end of season run of three wins in 23 games meaning Brighton narrowly secured survival by two points.
On 20 May Brighton appointed Graham Potter as the new manager.

## Players
### Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Mathew Ryan |
| 2 | DF | ESP | Bruno (club captain) |
| 3 | DF | CMR | Gaëtan Bong |
| 4 | DF | IRL | Shane Duffy |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Lewis Dunk (vice-captain) |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Dale Stephens |
| 7 | MF | ISR | Beram Kayal |
| 8 | MF | MLI | Yves Bissouma |
| 9 | FW | NED | Jürgen Locadia |
| 10 | FW | ROU | Florin Andone |
| 11 | MF | FRA | Anthony Knockaert |
| 13 | MF | GER | Pascal Groß |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | DF | NGA | Leon Balogun |
| 16 | FW | IRN | Alireza Jahanbakhsh |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Glenn Murray |
| 19 | FW | COL | José Izquierdo |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Solly March |
| 22 | DF | ESP | Martín Montoya |
| 23 | GK | ENG | Jason Steele |
| 24 | MF | NED | Davy Pröpper |
| 27 | GK | ENG | David Button |
| 30 | DF | BRA | Bernardo |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Dan Burn |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | DF | ITA | Ezequiel Schelotto (at Chievo until 30 June 2019) |
| 25 | FW | ISR | Tomer Hemed (at Queens Park Rangers until 30 June 2019) |
| 26 | FW | RSA | Percy Tau (at Saint-Gilloise until 30 June 2019) |
| 29 | DF | AUT | Markus Suttner (at Fortuna Düsseldorf until 30 June 2019) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Christian Walton (at Wigan Athletic until 30 June 2019) |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Ben Barclay (at Notts County until 30 June 2019) |
| 36 | FW | IRL | Richie Towell (at Rotherham United until 30 June 2019) |
| — | MF | ARG | Alexis Mac Allister (at Argentinos Juniors until 30 June 2019) |

### Reserves and Academy
## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | No. | Name | From | Fee | Joining squad |
| 1 July 2018 | CF | 10 | Florin Andone | Deportivo La Coruña | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | CB | 14 | Leon Balogun | Mainz 05 | Free transfer | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | GK | 23 | Jason Steele | Sunderland | Free transfer | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | LB | - | Joe Tomlinson | Yeovil Town | Free transfer | Academy |
| 5 July 2018 | LB | 30 | Bernardo | RB Leipzig | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 9 July 2018 | GK | - | Hugo Keto | Arsenal | Free transfer | Academy |
| 16 July 2018 | GK | 27 | David Button | Fulham | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 17 July 2018 | CM | 8 | Yves Bissouma | Lille | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 20 July 2018 | ST | 26 | Percy Tau | Mamelodi Sundowns | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 25 July 2018 | RW | 16 | Alireza Jahanbakhsh | AZ Alkmaar | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 7 August 2018 | LW | - | Billy Arce | Independiente del Valle | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 7 August 2018 | RW | - | Anders Dreyer | Esbjerg | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 9 August 2018 | CB | - | Dan Burn | Wigan Athletic | £3,000,000 | First Team |
| 9 August 2018 | LM | - | Peter Gwargis | Jönköpings Södra | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 9 August 2018 | RB | 22 | Martín Montoya | Valencia | £6,300,000 | First Team |
| 24 January 2019 | AM | — | Alexis Mac Allister | Argentinos Juniors | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 31 January 2019 | DM | — | Tudor Băluță | Viitorul Constanța | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 31 January 2019 | CF | — | Jan Mlakar | Maribor | Undisclosed | Academy |
* ↑ Fee reported as £5.250,000
* ↑ Fee reported as £9,000,000
* ↑ Fee reported as £17,000,000

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee | Leaving squad |
| 1 July 2018 | RW | David Ajiboye | Worthing | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | CF | Jonah Ayunga | Sutton United | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | RW | Henrik Bjørdal | Zulte Waregem | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | CB | Tom Dallison | Falkirk | Free transfer | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | CB | Connor Goldson | Rangers | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | RB | Tyler Hornby-Forbes | Newport County | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | CB | Uwe Hünemeier | SC Paderborn | Free transfer | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | DM | Dessie Hutchinson | Waterford | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | DM | Rohan Ince | Free agent | Released | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | RB | Mamadou Koné | Free agent | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | GK | Tim Krul | Norwich City | Released | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | GK | Niki Mäenpää | Bristol City | Rejected contract | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | LW | Reece Meekums | Bromley | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | LW | Jamie Murphy | Rangers | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | LB | Rian O'Sullivan | Free agent | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | RB | Liam Rosenior | Retired | Released | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | CM | Steve Sidwell | Retired | Mutual consent | First Team |
| 1 July 2018 | GK | Bailey Vose | Colchester United | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 30 July 2018 | FW | Sam Baldock | Reading | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 2 August 2018 | LW | Jiří Skalák | Millwall | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 3 December 2018 | AM | Danny Mandroiu | Bohemians | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 17 December 2018 | AM | Jayden Onen | Brentford | Free transfer | Academy |
| 2 January 2019 | RW | Jordan Maguire-Drew | Leyton Orient | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 4 January 2019 | CM | Oliver Norwood | Sheffield United | Undisclosed | First Team |
| 28 January 2019 | CM | Mathias Normann | Rostov | Undisclosed | Academy |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until | Leaving squad |
| 1 July 2018 | CB | Ben Hall | Notts County | 4 January 2019 | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | GK | Robert Sánchez | Forest Green Rovers | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 1 July 2018 | GK | Christian Walton | Wigan Athletic | 31 May 2019 | First Team |
| 2 July 2018 | SS | Steven Alzate | Swindon Town | 9 January 2019 | Academy |
| 12 July 2018 | RB | Aleš Matějů | Brescia | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 28 July 2018 | GK | Tom McGill | Worthing | 31 August 2018 | Academy |
| 1 August 2018 | RW | Jordan Maguire-Drew | Wrexham | 2 January 2019 | First Team |
| 7 August 2018 | LW | Billy Arce | Extremadura | 9 January 2019 | Academy |
| 9 August 2018 | CB | Dan Burn | Wigan Athletic | January 2019 | First Team |
| 13 August 2018 | CM | Oliver Norwood | Sheffield United | 4 January 2019 | First Team |
| 15 August 2018 | CF | Percy Tau | Union Saint-Gilloise | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 23 August 2018 | CF | Tomer Hemed | Queens Park Rangers | 31 May 2019 | First Team |
| 28 August 2018 | CF | Bojan Radulovic | Espanyol B | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 31 August 2018 | GK | Tom McGill | Greenwich Borough | 4 January 2019 | Academy |
| 31 August 2018 | DF | Joe Tomlinson | Bognor Regis Town | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 31 August 2018 | CM | Richie Towell | Rotherham United | 31 May 2019 | First Team |
| 26 October 2018 | CB | Matthew Weaire | Gosport Borough | December 2018 | Academy |
| 3 January 2019 | CB | Ben White | Peterborough United | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 4 January 2019 | CB | Ben Barclay | Notts County | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 7 January 2019 | LB | George Cox | Northampton Town | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 7 January 2019 | CB | Josh Kerr | Derry City | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 12 January 2019 | GK | Tom McGill | Basingstoke Town | Youth loan | Academy |
| 18 January 2019 | LB | Markus Suttner | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 31 May 2019 | First Team |
| 18 January 2019 | AM | James Tilley | Cork City | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 24 January 2019 | AM | Alexis Mac Allister | Argentinos Juniors | 31 May 2019 | First Team |
| 26 January 2019 | RW | Anders Dreyer | St Mirren | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 28 January 2019 | RB | Ezequiel Schelotto | Chievo Verona | 31 May 2019 | First Team |
| 31 January 2019 | DM | Tudor Băluță | Viitorul Constanța | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 31 January 2019 | CF | Aaron Connolly | Luton Town | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 31 January 2019 | CF | Jan Mlakar | Maribor | 31 May 2019 | Academy |
| 31 January 2019 | CF | Stefan Ljubicic | Eastbourne Borough | 30 April 2019 | Academy |
| 5 February 2019 | LW | Billy Arce | Emelec | 31 December 2019 | Academy |
| 11 February 2019 | GK | Hugo Keto | Waterford | 30 June 2019 | Academy |

## Pre-season

Brighton & Hove Albion announced five pre-season friendlies against St. Gallen, Wimbledon, Charlton Athletic, Birmingham City, and FC Nantes$^†$.
$^†$ The opponents for this match were supposed to be Sporting Clube de Portugal but were replaced by FC Nantes due to Sporting being unable to fulfil the fixture.

## Competitions
### Premier League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 15 | Burnley | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 45 | 68 | −23 | 40 | |
| 16 | Southampton | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 45 | 65 | −20 | 39 | |
| 17 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 35 | 60 | −25 | 36 | |
| 18 | Cardiff City (R) | 38 | 10 | 4 | 24 | 34 | 69 | −35 | 34 | Relegation to EFL Championship |
| 19 | Fulham (R) | 38 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 34 | 81 | −47 | 26 | Relegation to EFL Championship |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 12 May 2019. Source: Premier League

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | L | D | D | L | L | W | W | W | L | L | D | W | W | L | L | L | D | W | D | L | L | L | D | L | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | D | D | L |
| Position | 17 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |

#### Matches

On 14 June 2018, the Premier League fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.

### FA Cup

The third round draw was made live on BBC by Ruud Gullit and Paul Ince from Stamford Bridge on 3 December 2018. The fourth round draw was made live on BBC by Robbie Keane and Carl Ikeme from Wolverhampton on 7 January 2019. The fifth round draw was broadcast on 28 January 2019 live on BBC, Alex Scott and Ian Wright conducted the draw. Draw for the quarter-final was made on 18 February by Darren Fletcher & Wayne Bridge.

### EFL Cup

The second round draw was made from the Stadium of Light on 16 August.

## Squad statistics

    As of end of 2018–2019 season
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | AUS | Mathew Ryan | 36 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | ENG | Jason Steele | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | GK | ENG | David Button | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ESP | Bruno | 18 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | CMR | Gaëtan Bong | 24 | 0 | 19+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | IRL | Shane Duffy | 40 | 5 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Lewis Dunk | 38 | 2 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | NGA | Leon Balogun | 10 | 1 | 5+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ESP | Martín Montoya | 29 | 0 | 24+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | BRA | Bernardo | 27 | 0 | 19+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Dan Burn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 6 | MF | ENG | Dale Stephens | 35 | 1 | 29+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ISR | Beram Kayal | 24 | 1 | 9+9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | MLI | Yves Bissouma | 34 | 1 | 17+11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | FRA | Anthony Knockaert | 36 | 4 | 18+12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 13 | MF | GER | Pascal Groß | 27 | 3 | 24+1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Solly March | 37 | 2 | 31+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 |
| 24 | MF | NED | Davy Pröpper | 35 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 58 | MF | ENG | Will Collar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | NED | Jürgen Locadia | 33 | 4 | 12+14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3+3 | 2 |
| 10 | FW | ROU | Florin Andone | 27 | 5 | 8+15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 2 |
| 16 | FW | IRN | Alireza Jahanbakhsh | 24 | 0 | 12+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Glenn Murray | 42 | 15 | 30+8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 2 |
| 19 | FW | COL | Jose Izquierdo | 10 | 0 | 2+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 42 | FW | SWE | Viktor Gyökeres | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 |
| Players who have made an appearance or had a squad number this season but have left the club (All gone out on loan) ||||||||||||
| 21 | DF | ITA | Ezequiel Schelotto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | AUT | Markus Suttner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | FW | IRL | Aaron Connolly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Ben Barclay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |