Reaching Europe is the aim for many Premier League clubs this season, with the table so congested as we move deeper into the second half of the season. Brighton & Hove Albion are capable of breaking out from the pack to claim one of those places.
A 1-1 home draw against Bournemouth was not the result they really wanted at the end of a strange round of matches in which the top six at the start of the weekend all failed to win and the bottom five all avoided defeat.
Yet there are still reasons to be optimistic that Fabian Hurzeler’s 12th-placed side — only five points behind Manchester United in fifth position and three points behind Brentford in seventh — can mount a strong challenge over the next four months.
Charalampos Kostoulas showed again that he is a viable No 9 alternative to an over-dependence on Danny Welbeck. The 18-year-old Greek prospect was an effective replacement for Welbeck in the closing stages for the second match running.
Against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Kostoulas helped to preserve a 2-1 victory in the third round of the FA Cup with intelligent game management. His impact this time was more spectacular, an overhead kick in the 91st minute to cancel out Marcus Tavernier’s controversial 32nd-minute penalty.
The first home goal scored by Kostoulas since a £30million move last summer from Olympiacos, and second in 16 appearances, was memorable in its execution, chest control from Jan Paul van Hecke’s knockdown followed by an incredible airborne finish from 12 yards.
The entry of Kostoulas in the 77th minute followed a triple substitution by Hurzeler on 66 minutes which illustrated the depth at his disposal. That is important both to change games from the bench and to cope with injuries and suspensions over the course of a 38-game campaign.
Introducing Carlos Baleba, Yankuba Minteh and Georginio Rutter injected more pace, power and dynamism into the team. Midfielder Baleba impressed on his return from international duty for Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations, on one occasion tracking back to outmuscle Marcus Tavernier and regain possession.
Minteh, ruled out for three matches by a thigh injury, was an improvement on the inconsistent Brajan Gruda, troubling Bournemouth left-back Adrien Truffert with his explosive speed. Illness meant Rutter was only fit enough to be a substitute in his strongest position as the No 10, a role that went instead initially to Diego Gomez.
Yankuba Minteh impressed as a second-half substitute against Bournemouth (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Minteh’s return enabled Hurzeler to field the Gambian on the right flank in unison with Kaoru Mitoma on the left for the first time since September. The latter is still some way short of peak fitness and sharpness following a lengthy ankle injury. Alex Jimenez, Bournemouth’s pacy and adventurous Spanish right-back on loan from Milan, came out on top of the duel with Mitoma, but when the Japanese international is in full flow with Minteh they are a twin threat down the sides to any defence.
Brighton have done their main piece of business in the January transfer window by re-signing Pascal Gross from Borussia Dortmund. The return of the 34-year-old German craftsman in midfield is reaping a reward with a four-match unbeaten run so far in 2026, including a 1-1 draw at Manchester City.
The return of currently injured players will further strengthen Hurzeler’s hand in the coming weeks. Mats Wieffer, converted by the head coach from a defensive midfielder into a right-back alternative to Dutch compatriot Joel Veltman, has missed the last four matches with a toe injury. Long-serving Solly March, sidelined since May by a second significant knee injury, is creeping closer to a comeback. The versatile winger is scheduled to play a part in first-team training after working with the under-21s.
Among the other clubs in the tight middle section of the table, Newcastle United (eighth), Crystal Palace (13th) and Tottenham Hotspur (14th) have the extra distraction of Europe involvement. The next three games for Hurzeler’s side, at Fulham (11th) on Saturday, at home to Everton (10th) a week later and at home to sinking rivals Palace (13th) on February 8 provide an opportunity to keep on building momentum.
There are clearly flaws to consider. A fast start soon evaporated as Bournemouth, more energetic and mobile, gained the upper hand until tiring in the second half. The way they gained their lead was hotly disputed. Referee Paul Tierney overturned his original decision to book Amine Adli for a dive, instead awarding a penalty for a foul by Bart Verbruggen after Tierney was advised by VAR Jarred Gillett to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
There is not always a call one way or the other to be made in such circumstances. No penalty or yellow card for Adli would have made sense and would probably have avoided the VAR interference, but the danger signs of Bournemouth’s greater potency were already growing by that stage.
Doubters can also point to a run of one win out of nine in the league as evidence that Brighton lack what it takes to rise up the rankings, but the only defeats in that sequence have been in a seven-goal thriller at the Amex Stadium against Aston Villa (third), away to reigning Premier League champions Liverpool (fourth) and away to Arsenal (first).
Although draws are blunting table progression, many of the players in Hurzeler’s squad know what is required to reach Europe after narrowly missing by finishing eighth last season and qualifying in sixth under Roberto De Zerbi in 2023-24. There is enough ammunition — and enough shortcomings amongst the rivals — to have a good crack at it again.