Game used for reference: Brighton 1-1 Fulham, 2025/2026 Premier League, Round 1
After last week’s demoralizing loss against Leeds, Everton have the chance to rebound in a massive game against Brighton, which will be the first Premier League game played at Everton’s new stadium.
Brighton have consistently been a tough side to face since their promotion to the English top-flight in 2017.
Under Fabian Marc Hürzeler, who became the youngest-ever Premier League manager, they finished in 8th place, a very respectable spot. Now, they will be trying to push for a higher spot and try to play in an European competition.
Tactically, Brighton are all about breaking through defensive lines through the half spaces and out wide with coordinated passing combinations. They aren’t fully possession-based, as they prefer to use a bit of verticality which doesn’t allow teams to reset their defensive lines. Sometimes, though, that verticality leads to opposing squads having clear counterattacking possibilities against them.
If Everton want to grab a result against Brighton, they’ll either have to control the tempo, which would give Brighton less of the ball, or perhaps sit in a low block to close off the half spaces and hope to strike on the counter.
With Adam Aznou returning to training for the Toffees, it’ll be interesting to see who will play fullback. The teenager isn’t exactly world class defensively, but can add some pace that would keep Brighton honest defensively.
If Everton are able to stay strong defensively and generate some offensive output, they can definitely pull off a big win at Hill Dickinson Stadium.