Is it still a good idea to invest in Brighton players in FPL?

The early-season performances of Brighton & Hove Albion's key players have made them top targets for managers in Fantasy Premier League over the international break.

Ahead of the Gameweek 6 deadline at 11:00 BST on Saturday 10 October, midfielder Pascal Gross (£5.8m) is the most-bought player in Fantasy, while Maxim De Cuyper (£5.0m) and Charalampos Kostoulas (£5.6m) are the most-bought defender and forward respectively.

Player (club) Transfers in

Gross (BHA) 807,644

Schade (BRE) 402,698

Kostoulas (BHA) 322,280

De Cuyper (BHA) 306,430

Hall (NEW) 251,323

*Data correct as of 09:00 BST, 3 October

But is it still a good idea to be bringing in Brighton players?

While the 3-0 victory over champions Arsenal suggests the Seagulls' players can be fixture-proof, they have more difficult fixtures over the next four Gameweeks. They are also in Europe and the EFL Cup, so rotation could become a concern, and key players are returning from injury to compete for places.

Here, The Scout highlights Brighton's best FPL picks, and discusses whether it is still a good idea to invest in their standout stars due to these factors above and more.

The form of Brighton players, added to their very favourable prices, make the heavy investment understandable.

Gross is the top-scoring player in Fantasy, amassing 47 points thanks to three goals and four assists. He has a big share of set-pieces and also takes penalties.

Listed as a defender in Fantasy, De Cuyper has profited from a move into midfield. He has scored once and supplied three assists and also has a share of set-pieces.

Kostoulas's goal, assist and 10-point haul against Arsenal in Gameweek 5, meanwhile, has helped him to 28 points over the season - more than any other forward priced under £7.7m.

As you can see from the table below, centre-back Luka Vuskovic , midfielder Diego Gomez (both £5.0m) and goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) have also impressed early on.

Vuskovic has collected two defensive contribution (DC) points in two of the first five Gameweeks, while also scoring once and earning two bonus points. His total of 32 points is just six behind De Cuyper.

Player Points G+A Clean sheets DC & Bonus pts

Gross (MID) 47 7 3 9

De Cuyper (DEF) 38 4 3 5

Vuskovic (DEF) 32 1 3 6

Kostoulas (FWD) 28 5 N/A 3

Gomez (MID) 24 3 3 2

Verbruggen (GKP) 23 0 3 0

G+A = Goals and assists, DC = Defensive contribution points Scroll across to see the full table

An assessment of the underlying data shows that when it comes to big chances (situations where a player is expected to score), Gross has been Brighton's leading player.

The German has had two such opportunities and created four more for his team-mates, which means he has been involved in a total of six big chances.

Kostoulas has posed the greatest goal threat, with a total of five big chances, while De Cuyper and midfielder Malick Yalcouye (£4.5m) are also tied on five big-chance involvements.

Vuskovic , meanwhile, has matched the two big chances (BC) of De Cuyper and also has the slight edge for shots in the box, by six to five.

Player BC involvement BC BC created Shots in box

Gross 6 2 4 5

Kostoulas 5 5 0 9

Yalcouye 5 3 2 7

De Cuyper 5 2 3 5

Gomez 4 2 2 10

Vuskovic 2 2 0 6

Scroll across to see the full table

A quick look at the set-piece threat shows that Gross and De Cuyper have dominated Brighton's corner-kicks, taking all 27 between them. Gross has taken 15, and also taken five free-kicks.

Vuskovic's big threat at set-pieces is also very apparent - his five shots and three headed shots in such situations are both more than any team-mate.

Player Headed shots Shots Corners Free-kicks

Vuskovic 3 5 0 0

Gross 1 3 15 5

De Cuyper 0 1 12 1

Gomez, Kostoulas 1 2 0 0

Scroll across on mobile to see the full table

If you've yet to invest in Brighton assets, their upcoming schedule could play a part in how you assess them.

Their involvement in the group stage of the Conference League gets under way in October, with the Seagulls set to play seven matches across all competitions in a 21-day spell.

As you can see from the table below, Brighton face Liverpool in Gameweek 8 on Sunday 25 October, before then visiting Manchester City twice in the subsequent six days - first in the EFL Cup, and then in the Premier League in Gameweek 9.

Date Opp. Competition

10 Oct Sunderland (A) Premier League (GW6)

15 Oct Kauno Zalgiris (H) Conference League

18 Oct Crystal Palace (H) Premier League (GW7)

22 Oct Jablonec (A) Conference League

25 Oct Liverpool (A) Premier League (GW8)

28 Oct Man City (A) EFL Cup

31 Oct Man City (A) Premier League (GW9)

This all coincides with the expected returns to fitness of midfielders Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood (both £5.9m) at some point this month, which could impact on the minutes of De Cuyper and Gross, depending on how much head coach Fabian Hurzeler rotates and manages the pitch time of his players.

Up front, meanwhile, Georginio Rutter (£5.3m), who started the season ahead of Kostoulas as the first-choice forward, returned from injury as a substitute in Gameweek 5 and is another who is likely to earn plenty of minutes over the next month.

Brighton have certainly passed the fixture-proof test following their 3-0 win over Arsenal, and Hurzeler's side have now scored three or more goals in four of their first five matches.

The underlying data shows this is no fluke, and could be sustainable - their 63 shots in the box rank joint-top, while their 22 big chances are at least five more than any other side apart from the 20 of Sunderland.

Ultimately, Hurzeler's rotation will determine the upcoming period and, at 35 years of age, Gross is one of the likeliest to have his minutes managed.

But if he is mainly used in league matches, then at a price of just £5.8m, with 13, 17 and 14-point hauls over the last four Gameweeks, his ceiling is certainly high enough if you're prepared to accept he may not get 90 minutes all the time.

On the other hand, you could simply play the fixtures here, avoid Brighton and opt for Fulham's Josh King (£5.5m) instead. He faces all three promoted clubs - Coventry City, Hull City and Ipswich Town - across the next three Gameweeks.

In defence, Vuskovic has the edge over De Cuyper for defensive contributions and set-piece threat and also seems far less likely to have his minutes managed, as a centre-back. An ownership of under four per cent makes Vuskovic a great overlooked asset to invest in for the long term.

If you're looking for a budget goalkeeper, Hull's Konstantinos Tzolakis (£4.7m) could be a better pick than Verbruggen.

Although both have kept three clean sheets, Tzolakis has collected the maximum three bonus points twice, whereas Verbruggen has zero bonus points due to the displays of his team-mates. The Hull 'keeper also leads his rival by four save points to three.