Brighton & Hove Albion

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We wanted your suggestions for Brighton's all-time best Premier League XI.

There was a widespread consensus on 4-2-3-1 with a few debates around personnel.

Here are some of your picks:

Cab: 4-2-3-1. Verbruggen, Estupinan, Dunk, Van Hecke, Veltman, Caicedo, Mac Allister, Mitoma, Gross, Trossard, Pedro. So many great players to choose from. We've been well and truly spoiled the last few years. Capable of beating any team we faced with this lot.

James: 4-2-3-1. Verbruggen, White, Van Hecke, Dunk, Cucurella, Caicedo, Mac Allister, Gross, March, Welbeck, Mitoma. Take each of these players in their prime and they finish in the Champions League places.

Gavin: 4-2-3-1. Sanchez, Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Cucurella, Mac Allister, Caicedo, March, Gross and Mitoma behind Murray. Only two maybe considered controversial. Sanchez was the best GK - big mistake by De Zerbi to write him off. De Zerbi fanatics cannot accept this. Murray is the natural goal scorer.

Adam: 4-4-2. Verbruggen, Dunk, Cucurella, Veltman, Estupinan, Gross, Caicedo, Mac Allister, Mitoma, Murray, Welbeck. I've always been a big fan of the 4-4-2 system - unfortunately we don't play that much now. For me, the players I've selected are the best we've had.

George Mills
BBC Sport senior journalist

In a recent addition of the Football Extra newsletter, Roger asked BBC Sport: Players are frequently injured on international duty - such as Chris Wood for New Zealand last season, which may have ultimately cost Nottingham Forest a Champions League place. Are clubs compensated by the country or does insurance cover compensation?'

Since 2012, Fifa's Club Protection Programme has covered the salary of players injured on international duty - although there are some conditions.

Firstly, the player must be out of action for a period of at least 28 consecutive days and the injury must have been sustained during an "accident", which is defined in very boring and legally-specific detail in Fifa's guidelines, though it covers most of the examples you could think of.

The scheme pays the salary of an injured player up to the maximum amount of €7.5m (£6.6m) until they are declared fit to return for their clubs.

Transfermarkt lists Chris Wood as missing 18 days - three games - with the hip injury you mention from last March, suffered on international duty with New Zealand. As he returned inside 28 days, Forest would not have been eligible to claim compensation.

There are a couple of clubs who will currently be beneficiaries of this scheme though, including Newcastle United, whose £55m summer signing Yoane Wissa is yet to make an appearance since suffering a knee injury while playing for DR Congo.

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A fresh episode of The Wayne Rooney Show has landed and there's a raging debate on who should be on the plane for England to next summer's World Cup.

As part of the conversation, the panel dive into the form of Ollie Watkins and the credentials of Jack Grealish and Danny Welbeck.

"I'm surprised Watkins is not in this squad," says Rooney. "We have an opportunity where we don't need to see Harry Kane - give him a rest. This is where the manager should be saying - 'you are not with us, go and have a rest'."

Emile Heskey joins the podcast this week and there's also a nugget on Rooney setting a somewhat different example for a young Theo Walcott while on England duty.

Watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

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We wanted your suggestions for Brighton's all-time best Premier League XI.

And you delivered!

Here's a first bunch:

Simon: 4-4-2. Steele, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan, Veltman, Mac Allister, Caciedo, Gross, Mitoma, Murray, Welbeck. Mixture of club legends and world class talent.

Liam: 4-5-1 or 4-3-3. Steele - slim pickings, Dunk, Van Hecke, Cucurella, Lamptey, Gross, Mitoma, Caicedo, Mac Allister, March, Murray. Defensively OK and harsh on Welbeck to miss out, but Murray was critical for the early years. That midfield could live with any Premier League team ever.

Colin: 4-4-2. Ryan, Bruno, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan, Mitoma, Gross, Caicedo, Mac Allister, Welbeck, Murray. Every team needs quality but it must be consistent quality. All these performed at a top level for years and made nine out of 10 contributions nearly every time they played.

Derek: 4-2-3-1. Sanchez, Dunk, Colwill, Cucurella, Burn, Caicedo, Mac Allister, Mitoma, Welbeck, Knockaert. These players all gave everything to the club or have gone on to be top class players, either in the build up to the club's Premier League campaign or currently.

Steve: 4-4-2. Verbruggen, Bruno, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinian, Mac Allister, Caceido, Mitoma, March, Murray, Pedro. Solid back four, width on the wings with the ability to cut in, powerhouse in the middle and goalscorers!

Robin: 4-4-2. Ryan, Bruno, Cucurella, Dunk, Van Hecke, Gross, Mac Allister, Caicedo, Mwepu, Murray, Welbeck. A mix from the whole period. Survival under Chris Hughton, stability under Graham Potter and excitement and Europe under Roberto de Zerbi. It is also sad as Mwepu was forced to retire.

It's international break so let's have a bit of fun to pass the time.

Now we know football existed before 1992 but for the purposes of this little exercise, keep it Premier League please.

So tell us, who would be in your dream Brighton's Premier League XI?

The debate starts here.

Send your suggestions

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Alongside his commanding presence, Brighton loanee Carl Rushworth's "outstanding character" also "shines through", says BBC CWR's Coventry City commentator Rob Gurney.

The 24-year-old goalkeeper has impressed on his loan spell so far with the Sky Blues, helping them to the top of the Championship table and breaking a club record along the way for the number of minutes without conceding a goal.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast, Gurney said: "One of the things that Oggy [former Coventry goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic] likes about him is his presence and the fact he takes command of situations.

"You rarely see these days keepers coming for crosses and trying to catch crosses. Modern keepers try to punch everything instead of catching it. Carl is excellent at taking and catching crosses, and holding on to them, rather than trying to just clear his penalty area with punches.

"He has also made some tremendous individual saves. There was one in the Blackburn match, while it was still 0-0, when the ball was arcing towards the top corner and he made a miraculous save to claw it out.

"We were sitting with the perfect view of it and Oggy was purring watching it because it was a tremendous stop. That has been peppered throughout his performances so far.

"He is such a likeable person too. For 24 years of age he is incredibly mature. He will talk to you as though he is 34, never mind 24. We have done two or three interviews with him and what an outstanding character he is as a person, as well as a footballer, has shone out.

"If you asked 99.9% of Coventry fans right now, they would love to sign Carl Rushworth permanently, but clearly Brighton have got a lot to say in what happens going forward and he will have a lot to say on what happens going forward. If Coventry do get promoted, it will be interesting to see what happens.

"After a slightly sticky start, he is doing magnificently well in goal and has endeared himself to the fans already."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Sin bins? Bonus points? Two goals if you score from distance?

Imagine a world in which you could reinvent football.

It's a dream, of course. Just a bit of fun. But stick with us.

What if you had the power to change any of the game's laws and potentially bring to an end countless hours of discussion about handball, offside, video assistant referees, or anything else you want to?

Some of BBC Sport's familiar football faces have offered their own potential rule changes.

Watch them above or read more here

Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen reacts to the 0-0 draw at Palace, commentator Rob Gurney analyses Carl Rushworth's progress at Coventry City & the team discuss men's mental health with fans Kieran Maguire from the Price of Football podcast & Samaritans' Dean Gallagher.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Listen to every Brighton game live on BBC Radio Sussex, with all the build-up and full commentary with Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall, and there is a full preview of all Seagulls' matches on Fridays at 18:00 in The Weekend Warm-up

Joe Sayers
Fan writer

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There is always a lot of discussion at the start of the season about when is best to take the table seriously, and being 11 games and nearly a third of our way through the season, I think we have enough of a sample size to reflect on what we have seen so far.

It has certainly been a mixed bag of results for the Albion this season, with consistent inconsistency being the main frustration among fans. The most frustrating part is seeing our performances hit the level we know we can, and then in the next moment the levels and intensity drops far below the benchmark.

Having said that, we are going into this international break on the back of keeping consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time since February. We are beginning to form a solid foundation to springboard ourselves up the table, and the standards of what our players expect from each other is starting to show.

After our demolition of Leeds United, Jan Paul van Hecke was captured in the changing room demanding that "we need to be better in training" and show the levels of a team that is chasing Europe for the second time, and I am quietly confident we will grow into this season and shape ourselves up for a strong push yet again.

It is an incredibly tough Premier League this season and the competition for those European spots is going to be tougher than ever.

Now is the perfect time to regroup, get a few of our familiar faces back on the training pitch and hopefully continue to build on the positives we have already shown so far.

Find more from Joe Sayers at Albion Obsessed, external

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

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Brighton winger Amario Cozier-Duberry, on loan at Bolton Wanderers, was involved in all four goals against Port Vale on Saturday.

The 19-year-old got two goals and two assists, and has seven goals and seven assists in total this season for the promotion-chasing League One club.

When asked about his performances, manager Steven Schumacher praised Cozier-Duberry as well as the contributions of some of his other players, including top scorer Mason Burstow, and insisted: "We're not just a one-man team."

However, it has sparked reports he may leave the third tier of English football, with a January break clause in his loan contract and Championship offers expected,

Brighton are known to be happy with the loan arrangement and are not actively looking to move him.

Still, clubs like Sheffield United, West Brom, Preston and Bristol City have been mooted as possible destinations, with two years left on his Albion contract as of June.

Bolton have put the England youth international back on an upward trajectory after a mixed first senior loan spell at Blackburn Rovers last season, which was partly disrupted by an ankle injury and a change of manager.

Brighton continue to monitor Cozier-Duberry having signed him from Arsenal, despite attempts to keep him in north London, in July 2024.

Interestingly, Jason Ayto has since made the same move, leaving the Gunners to join Brighton as sporting director in September, and will have some say over the player's long-term future.

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Brighton

Here are some of your comments:

Crystal Palace fans

Dave: Some great performances across the team and particularly in defence. But as the game went on, the team looked really tired so I was happy with the point at the final whistle. I think we may need some reinforcements in January.

Paul: Again two points dropped, missing great chances to score. There have been a lot of games this season we should have won. The Brighton dive for the penalty was rightly booked - Tom Daley would have been proud! Jean-Philippe Mateta needs a rest.

Dave: Looked tired in the final 10 to 20 minutes but probably should have nicked it. Those midweek games do take their toll. We need a couple of decent additions in January.

Steve: Fatigue is fast becoming a crucial factor, contributing to a lacklustre Palace display. Some are clearly running on empty. So it's time for some of the fringe players to step up. Brighton were tidy on the ball, but created very little. A draw was probably the right result. Now, we move on to go after a much-needed away win at Wolves after the international break.

Brighton fans

Ian: Only Brighton have the ability to control a game that much and come away with a draw. If it was Palace placing that much pressure in the final third, they would've won by three clear goals. Brighton seriously have to get a grip on putting games like this to bed. The quantity of games drawn is once again proving costly and will give us another mid-table finish this season.

Stuart: Carlos Baleba is half the player he was from last season. Obviously his head is elsewhere right now and we are suffering in the middle of the park. Kaoru Mitoma's absence is also a factor as Yankuba Minteh is shouldering all responsibility for our wide creativity and it is unbalanced. That said, a decent result and a strong defensive display against a decent Palace. A lot more to come from Albion.

Adam: Brighton played well and stifled Crystal Palace's attack. Great saves from Bart Verbruggen and a good point away from home. But we should've dominated that game much more given we had eight days' rest.

Joe: Bart Verbruggen take a bow - two outstanding saves to keep us in it. He's put an iffy season last year behind him. Minteh again showed how technically poor he is - it really shows in the final third. Both sides had big chances that were not taken.

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Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen speaking to BBC Radio Sussex after the 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace: "There are a lot of positives to take from the game. We defended really well as a team and I don't think Palace created too many opportunities and chances.

"We need to improve those small margins to get a goal and a win. It is something we will work on after the international break and hopefully we will continue to improve to go a winning run.

"The boys were fighting on the pitch and trying not to concede shots, but I was happy to help twice when needed.

"I don't think we are doing too much different than the beginning of the season. We speak a lot about the importance of clean sheets and trying to restrict shots."

• Hear more from Verbruggen on BBC Sounds

Captain Lewis Dunk added: "We defended solidly and didn't give them many chances. Back-to-back clean sheets is always a good thing.

"I thought it was a good battle with the two teams going at each other."

• Listen to more from Dunk here

Pundits Wayne Rooney and Danny Murphy join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Aston Villa 4-0 Bournemouth

• Brentford 3-1 Newcastle

• Crystal Palace 0-0 Brighton

• Nottingham Forest 3-1 Leeds

• Man City 3-0 Liverpool

Sam Drury
BBC Sport journalist

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While Crystal Palace had a quick turnaround after their European exertions, there was no such busy schedule to hamper Brighton, yet the Seagulls seemed to suffer from the same sluggishness as their opponents.

Head coach Fabian Hurzeler, who was booked for dissent and now faces a touchline ban, will be pleased with a second clean sheet in two games – as many as his side had managed in their previous 22 league matches - but they lacked spark when going forward.

Diego Gomez was an exception as he created four chances - double that of any other player in the match - but Yankuba Minteh was some way off his best with his poor finish late in the first half symptomatic of his overall display.

Georginio Rutter, who could have no complaints over his booking for diving following the penalty incident, played just off striker Danny Welbeck, but they failed to muster a shot between them in the match.

It continues a strange start to the campaign for Brighton, who sit 11th, a point behind Palace in 10th, after 11 games.

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler, speaking to BBC Match of the Day after their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace: "I agree [we defended really well]. That's what I said before the game, it's about keeping clean sheets.

"If we use our chances then we are the deserved winner in this game but sometimes football is like this.

"In the end, we are disappointed that we didn't win because we played really well, controlled the game and created a lot of chances. But we have to accept it."

On overturned penalty decision: "I didn't have a look at it yet so I'll have a look and then we'll see."

On international break after decent run: "There are pros and cons. We always focus on performance and we really made a step forward.

"We continue our progress but there are still small margins where we can be better. But the basic things, the structure is quite good at the moment."

On picking unchanged XI for first time as Brighton boss: "We wanted the consistency and then after the international break, the crunch time is starting and we need all of the players."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Crystal Palace's performance

What did you make of Brighton's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Adam Wharton is back in the Crystal Palace starting line-up but captain Marc Guehi is not in the squad.

With Guehi missing out, Oliver Glasner makes three changes to the side that started Thursday's 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the Conference League.

As well as Wharton, Daichi Kamada also comes in and Jaydee Canvot replaces Guehi. Will Hughes and Yeremy Pino drop to the bench.

Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Canvot, Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Kamada, Mitchell, Sarr, Mateta.

Subs: Matthews, Benitez, Pino, Uche, Clyne, Hughes, Esse, Sosa, Devenny

Fabian Hurzeler sticks with the same XI that began Brighton's 3-0 over Leeds last weekend.

The Seagulls are going in search of a fourth league win in six games after just one victory in their first five matches to start the season.

Brighton XI: Verbruggen, Wieffer, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Baleba, Ayari, Minteh, Rutter, Gomez, Welbeck.

Subs: Steele, Tzimas, Kostoulas, Boscagli, De Cuyper, Veltman, Coppola, Knight, Oriola.

There are five games in the Premier League on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Aston Villa v Bournemouth - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Brentford v Newcastle - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Crystal Palace v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

• Nottingham Forest v Leeds - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Manchester City v Liverpool (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 14:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction from the 14:00 games here

And go here for Man City v Liverpool

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Aston Villa v Bournemouth" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Man City v Liverpool", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

The M23 derby is one of my favourite games.

Crystal Palace won it home and away last season, but it is so hard to call this time.

The two teams are next to each other in the table, with Oliver Glasner's sitting ninth and Brighton one place behind them in 10th.

Both teams won comfortably last week too, but Palace played in the Conference League on Thursday and that is going to affect them.

Without Europe, I probably would've gone for the Eagles to win but, the more I think about it, the more I think the Seagulls will get something.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

Crystal Palace have regained momentum with three successive wins across as many competitions and are a point ahead of fierce rivals Brighton & Hove Albion heading into Sunday's Premier League meeting (14:00 GMT). BBC Sport looks at some of the talking points going into the game.

Palace back on a roll

Palace initially struggled to regroup after their 19-match unbeaten run was ended away to Everton a month ago. But after four games without a win, they have rebuilt confidence by beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and then Brentford in the league before turning on the style during Thursday's 3-1 European victory over Dutch side AZ.

An unrelenting fixture schedule has left little time for manager Oliver Glasner to work with the squad on the training ground and the Austrian admits his main focus is on rest and recovery. "We have to be careful in the training sessions they don't sprint too much because they have to sprint in the games," he said. "We have to prioritise."

Despite the limited time to train, Crystal Palace remain as well drilled as ever under Glasner.

They average less possession than any Premier League side bar Burnley, but their ruthless counter-attacking style continues to provide high-quality chances – the Eagles rank top for expected goals.

Both Palace and Brighton also rank in the Premier League top five this season for shots on target and big chances scored, only trailing clubs with vastly superior resources.

The Eagles are unbeaten in 11 home league games (W6, D5), their longest run since an 18-match streak in the Championship between September 2012 and March 2013.

They beat Brighton home and away last season, with the latter encounter at Selhurst Park in April ending with three red cards: two for Palace and one for Albion.

Hurzeler understand fixture's meaning to fans

Brighton, though, haven't suffered consecutive away defeats in this fixture since the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons. Current head coach Fabian Hurzeler said he understood the importance of games against Crystal Palace "from the first second" when he attended a 1-1 draw between the sides two seasons ago.

He believes his Brighton team started too passively in both fixtures last season and added: "You can't promise wins but you can promise that you will leave your heart on the pitch. That is what we try to do on Sunday."

With the countdown to the Celebrity Traitors final under way, we asked you which Brighton player or manager - past or present - would make the best traitor and faithful.

Here are some of your comments:

Martin: Traitor would be Danny Welbeck as no-one would suspect him. Faithful would be Lewis Dunk as he could not be a traitor - too loyal.

Greg: Tony Bloom would be great. Either spotting the traitors or, even better, using his poker face to manipulate the faithfuls as a traitor.

Gary: For the three traitors, look no further than three ex-managers who all left in an underhand manner. Gus Poyet, who applied for other jobs while still a Brighton manager. Graham Potter, who left for Chelsea and took the entire coaching staff with him. Roberto de Zerbi, who left over recruitment disagreements despite understanding the club's policy. For a faithful, look no further than Kaoru Mitoma, who loves it at Brighton turning down Saudi money to stay loyal to the Albion.

David: There can only be one traitor - Potter. Chelsea waved their cheque book and he ran as fast as he could. Joao Pedro, for the same reason, must be a close second. Faithful - look no further than Dunk. One-club man who has been the rock for so many years and long may he continue in whatever role possible.

You can watch the final of The Celebrity Traitors live from 21:00 GMT on BBC iPlayer