Fabian Hürzeler has turned the Amex into a fortress, but frustrating draws and defensive lapses threaten to undermine the Seagulls' clinical home victories against the league's heavyweights.
Brighton have had a difficult season, but still sit in 8th position in the Premier League. Many of their games have been met with inconsistencies and strange decisions, and the record both backs this up and contradicts it at the same time...
Brighton's home record is pretty good.
W8 D6 L3
Perhaps Albion will look back at the level of draws at the end of the season, with just how close the run-in is between the likes of Bournemouth and Brentford.
The eight wins have been the impressive part. Wins against teams like Chelsea, Man City, and Liverpool.
Most importantly, Albion have found ways to get past some of those at the bottom of the table. Comfortable victories over Leeds, Nottingham Forest, and Burnley earlier in the season were a nice sign of growth under Fabian Hürzeler.
Recently, it has felt like Albion can't lose at the Amex. Turning up in games when it truly matters has been a key factor in the revival of form under the German head coach. Beating Liverpool and Chelsea sparked life in Albion fans who had previously felt like most had lost hope.
Albion have only lost three games at home this season. Those were against Arsenal, Crystal Palace, and Aston Villa. Albion tend to struggle against rivals Palace under Hürzeler. The Albion manager has never beaten them since he took over in 2024. The boos that followed the full-time whistle were brutal, and it seemed as though there was no point of return for the Albion head coach.
The Villa and Arsenal games had an equally strange taste. Arsenal's encounter was fiery between Hürzeler and Arteta.
Words were exchanged over Arsenal's style of play, but ultimately the Seagulls fell short of the final result. The defeat against Villa came in strange circumstances, as Albion took a 2-0 lead in this game. At one point in the second half, this was turned around to 4-2! Albion grabbed a late consolation from Jan Paul Van Hecke in a difficult afternoon at the Amex.
Most noticeably, Albion are draw specialists. Granted, it is better to draw a game than lose one, but six home draws are sizeable. Some of them happened in frustrating circumstances, too. The last-gasp equaliser from Beto (90+5') comes to mind against Everton, and similarly with Rodrigo Muniz for Fulham (90+7').
Albion have been on the right end of that exchange, though. An overhead kick from Charalampos Kostoulas (90') stole a point from Bournemouth to keep the season end close. Georginio Rutter (90+1') had a similar moment against strugglers West Ham. Albion's talent has the ability to win points on their own at times.
The combination of individual quality and inconsistency has led to dramatic results. Most games have similar patterns, but often different results.
Importantly, Albion don't lose at home much, and whether that has been for good or frustrating reasons, a positive to take for the final two games at the Amex this season.
The question whether the Seagulls can finish the season on a high and turn up in big games is now going to be the difference.
The topsy-turvy games have quite often been a trend under Hürzeler. Albion will hope for more stability from now on, with Hürzeler penning a new 3-year deal.