Brighton have gone from strength to strength since being promoted to the Premier League in 2017, and more club records look likely to fall this season. Here, Richie Mills of Sussex Live provides the expert view.

Brighton are seventh in the Premier League table, having already beaten Manchester United and drawn 3-3 with Liverpool in their first eight games of the season. What have you made of what you’ve seen so far?

At the moment, Brighton are on track to have their best-ever season.

They picked up 13 of the first 18 points on offer, but were then rocked by the news that Graham Potter had left for Chelsea 36 hours or so after Thomas Tuchel was sacked, so they have almost had two seasons within the space of seven games.

Everyone was on cloud nine after an incredible start, during which they beat Manchester United and West Ham and also thumped Leicester 5-2. Brighton have been, in the past, labelled as the kings of expected goals, but this season they have been so clinical.

There was a lot of excitement about Roberto De Zerbi coming in, and though some sections of the media questioned whether he could adapt, in the first game against Liverpool, they had six shots on target and scored three goals, so it looks like De Zerbi has picked up where Potter left off.

The future is very bright at Brighton and it will be interesting to see how the Italian continues.

As you said, Roberto De Zerbi took over at the Amex in mid-September, after Graham Potter departed for Chelsea, and he seems to have made a decent impression already. How has he been received by the Brighton fans?

They were really, really excited. In terms of the style of play, it’s not too dissimilar to Potter’s. He likes to have his teams build from the back and be patient in doing so, like Potter did, but I think he is more direct. He will use centre-backs a lot and actually said that the back three of Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster are his most important players before he had even taken charge of a game.

He wants the team to be brave and courageous, so I think we might see something from the Kevin Keegan book: If you score three, we’ll score four. They may not be as solid at the back as they were under Potter, but I think we’ll see a similar formation, in the sense that there will be three centre-backs and wing-backs, but he could change it up.

In terms of the reputation, people were excited when they looked at his CV because he helped Sassuolo – a relatively small club in Italy – to back-to-back eighth-place finishes and he managed Shakhtar Donestk, though that was cut short.

Some think Potter has soured his reputation by leaving, whereas certain sections of the fanbase think they have now got an upgrade on him.

Over the past few seasons, Brighton’s xG and xPTS totals have been higher than the actual totals, but this season, so far, the expected and actual totals look remarkably similar. Why do you think they are looking more clinical?

Good question. I think one factor is purely just the team getting to know each other better and playing together season after season. They have had some new players come in and some players go - over the summer Yves Bissouma, Marc Cucurella and Neal Maupay left – but it seems as though they are doing better than ever and they have been able to adapt without them in the team.

Moises Caicedo has come to the fore and been fantastic, Alexis Mac Allister has stepped up and Pascal Gross is arguably playing the best football of his life at the age of 31.

Brighton are spreading the goals about now. Maybe in the past, they relied on someone like Maupay to score the goals, but they have scored 14 goals in seven games and there have been contributions from midfielders. Danny Welbeck has not even scored yet, but he has been so key in the build-up to goals with his selfless running and bringing others into play.

Brighton are such a well-coached and well-drilled side. If you look at the Liverpool game, Jurgen Klopp’s team were the ones that relied on individual moments of brilliance, with Brighton the more cohesive unit. Players raising their levels, spreading the goals about and just being a bit more street smart has been key.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on?

How Brighton have been able to do so well this season and at the tail-end of last term is down to always winning the midfield battles. They have got Caicedo and Mac Allister pulling the strings as they have done, supported by the likes of Gross and Leandro Trossard, so if you want to beat them, you have to have parity with them in midfield or you are going to struggle.

In terms of one to watch, it’s hard to look past Trossard because of his hattrick against Liverpool and the fact he scored twice against Brentford last season, so I would say he is the one to look out for, but I do think that, while he has the brilliance, not many teams have got the better of Caicedo and Mac Allister. If you can smother them in midfield, you have got a very good chance of winning – and that will, maybe, stop the likes of Trossard and Co from working their magic.

How is De Zerbi likely to set up his side in West London?

In the past, he has tended to play with four defenders, two holding midfielders and then three attacking midfielders and a striker, but what we saw against Liverpool was three at the back, with two wing-backs, three midfielders, Trossard as a floating winger and then Welbeck up top. I cannot see De Zerbi changing the team from that game.

The Seagulls won both of the Premier League meetings between the teams last season, without conceding on either occasion. What’s your score prediction for this one?

It’s interesting because Brentford can be fantastic one week and then a bit under par the next. I think they are definitely stronger and a tougher nut to crack at home, so I think it will be very similar to the same fixture last season. There could be just one goal in it, but I’m going to go for a 1-1 draw.