Premier League 2022-23 preview No 5: Brighton

Guardian writers’ predicted position 12th (NB: this is not necessarily Ed Aarons’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position 9th

Odds to win the league (via Oddschecker) 250-1

The mood on the south coast is understandably positive after last season’s record-breaking campaign under the shrewd Graham Potter, even if there could be some tinkering required at the Amex. Brighton achieved their highest ever top-flight finish (ninth), picked up 10 more points (51) than their previous highest tally, scored more goals (42) than ever before in the Premier League and – most importantly – finished above Crystal Palace for the first time since being promoted in 2017.

Yet while the 4-0 drubbing of Manchester United at the start of May came in the middle of a purple patch to round off the season, it was Brighton’s first home victory of 2022 as any hopes of securing European qualification slipped away in February and March. This time, Potter will know that finding a striker capable of scoring more than the nine goals top scorer Neal Maupay managed will be key to their chances of finishing higher.

The loss of Yves Bissouma from the midfield engine room after he joined Tottenham and potential departure of Marc Cucurella – the Spain left-back who won Players’ Player and Player of the Season awards in his debut season – to Manchester City could be major blows, however. Moisés Caicedo could be a ready-made replacement for Bissouma and Potter is likely to have to find other solutions from within his existing squad given that the only new additions at the time of writing are winger Simon Adingra and 18-year-old Paraguay forward Julio Enciso.

There must be quite a few clubs who rank Potter highly in their