Tactical analysis: Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton

The Italian manager has completely transformed the club

Roberto De Zerbi took over as Brighton's manager in late September, and since then, the squad has continued to flourish both in and out of control. Despite all of the great aspects of their performance in the Premier League, the outcomes haven't always followed, but De Zerbi now appears to have found stability as the Seagulls are now in seventh position. Here is our tactical study of De Zerbi's Brighton thus far in 2022–23 and our assessment of the Italian's ability to guide them towards playing in Europe this year.

Roberto de Zerbi's system of play: 4-2-3-1

Despite Graham Potter's intricacy at Brighton, De Zerbi has remained mostly orthodox in his use of the 4-2-3-1 formation. Graham Potter used a 3-4-2-1 formation when the Italian first entered the game, but the club now appears to be comfortable with that back-four.

Pascal Groß being converted into a right-back, a position he very seldom played for Potter, has been De Zerbi's most intriguing decision so far. Groß, an aggressive midfielder who began the season playing brilliantly well down and up those right-half areas, has only improved his scoring performance in his new fullback role.

Pervis Estupiñán has proved a more noticeable starter down the left and gallops and gallivants along the left wing like a true wing-back. Two superb, tall, and intimidating defenders, Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster, form a strong relationship between the two experimental fullbacks. Due to Webster's injury, Levi Colwill has just joined the team.

He has demonstrated a complete comfort level with De Zerbi's scorer-heavy ideology. Joel Veltman, who can play as either a right-wing-back or right-centre-back, continues to be an important leader whenever the club plays in a back-three. This makes him handy in a back four as well, should De Zerbi decide to bring Groß back into the middle of the pitch.

The only player for the Seagulls to have played every minute of this season is Spain's "Sweeper Keeper," Robert Sanchez, who is positioned behind the defensive line. The Spaniard is superb out of the back and rushes from his line while making clever tactical choices. He will continue to be important as Brighton works to shore up their defence and make sure they don't need to score a lot of goals to win.

After Mac Allister lifted the World Cup with Argentina, De Zerbi established the pairing of Alexis Mac Allister and Moisés Caicedo in midfield in all games save the last one. This has been a stunning combination of Graham Potter-era genius, finding a way to maximise Caicedo's incredible energy but preventing him from playing only defensively. It has been a stroke of brilliance to play next to an assertive "6" who also happens to be creative with the ball, and De Zerbi has obviously understood the importance of his midfield combination in dictating the game's tempo.

Although a change away from the double-pivot may be improbable given their success, it will be fascinating to watch whether the Italian adapts following the outstanding form of Mac Allister in the form of an energetic '8' (bordering on '10') for Argentina.

The centre-forward must be able to convert opportunities given that they already have innovative skills from players like Groß, March, and the left-sided combinations of Mitoma and Estupián. Welbeck has never been the most proficient goal scorer, while Mitoma just gives more in every facet of the game, from defensive tenacity to on-the-ball skill.

Despite Brighton's summer investment, a centre-forward may still be the team's first objective, while De Zerbi indicates a willingness to test out players like Enciso and Sarmiento in the closing minutes of games.

De Zerbi keeps Brighton moving up the table and ensures that they are prepared for a reliable top-half result once more as they wait for a natural striker-scoring centre-forward.