6 highlights for Brighton from their 2023-24 fixtures
The 2023-24 Premier League fixtures are out and Brighton will host newly promoted Luton Town at the Amex in their first game of the campaign.
With the television selections already confirmed for the opening weekend, we know for certain the clash with the Hatters will take place on Saturday 12th August at 3pm.
Sky Sports and the newly-branded TNT Sports will no doubt do their best to butcher the fixtures list again in 2023-24, meaning that the days when Brighton fans could get excited about who they were playing and when are long gone.
Just 17 of 38 Premier League matches last season took place at 3pm on a Saturday. So, rather than use a fine tooth comb to go through a schedule subject to complete change between now and May, we have decided to pick out some key takeaways from the 2023-24 Brighton fixtures.
Luton will be not be an easy first fixture for the Albion
Luton have provided one of the biggest fairy tales in modern football, climbing from non league to the top flight in just nine years and without spending millions of pounds.
In many ways, the Albion could not have asked for a harder first game of the season. The Hatters will be fired up beyond belief for their Premier League debut, with clubs promoted through the Championship playoffs in particular often making a decent start in their first top flight game.
Brighton do not have a particularly good record against Luton, either. The most recent competitive clash between the clubs came in the 2008-09 Paint Pot, when the Albion suffered a penalty shootout defeat in the southern section final at Kenilworth Road.
Luton were bottom of the Football League at the time but the embarrassing exit did at least serve one useful purpose. With Wembley no longer a possibility, Micky Adams was sacked and replaced by Russell Slade.
A sliding doors moment in Brighton history as without Slade, the Seagulls would surely have slipped into League Two in the summer of 2009.
Gus Poyet then probably does not take over as manager, the first season at the Amex does not start in the Championship… you get the picture. Cheers, Luton.
Helpful run of Amex games kick starts the campaign
But back to the present and Brighton will play three of their first four fixtures of 2023-24 at the Amex. A trip to Wolves comes the week after Luton, followed by back-to-back home matches against West Ham United and the Saudi Sportswashers.
The Albion then go to Manchester United and host Plucky Little Bournemouth in what looks to be a relatively kind start to the campaign. If Brighton can take advantage of those early home matches, then the potential is there to get off to a flyer.
Home is where the heart is after European exertions
Brighton have also been treated well by the schedule in terms of what happens after their Thursday night escapades in the Europe.
Four of the six Premier League fixtures following Europa League group stage action come at the Amex. The first of those is the Bournemouth home game, followed by Amex matches against Liverpool on Sunday 8th October, Fulham on Sunday 29th October and Sheffield United on Sunday 12th November.
Brighton’s travel is also reduced after their final two group matches with Premier League away games against Chelsea on Sunday 3rd December and Arsenal on Sunday 17th December.
Happy Christmas, Ange
The undoubted highlight of the 2023-34 Brighton fixtures is Spurs coming to the Amex on Boxing Day. Not for the travel situation; presuming the game is not picked for television coverage, the normal travel shambles getting to and from Falmer on a day when there is no public transport will play out.
Rather, it is the prospect of facing Ange Postecoglou over the festive period and being able to make a million references to Dirty Den serving up wife Ange divorce papers on Christmas Day in one of the most iconic EastEnders moments ever. Happy Christmas, Ange.
How happy Albion fans are on Christmas Day may well hinge on what happens when Brighton travel to Selhurst Park on Saturday 23rd December. The return against the Eagles takes place on Saturday 3rd February.
The Seagulls can at least expect to wrap up 2023 with victory as the final game of the calendar year takes them to West Ham. Brighton are yet to lose a Premier League match against the Hammers since winning promotion to the top flight in 2017.
There are no New Year’s Day fixtures in 2023-24, meaning Brighton supporters avoid what has become the annual tradition of the past few seasons of kickstarting January at Everton.
Instead, the Albion will make their final visit to Goodison Park on Saturday 4th November ahead of the Toffee’s planned move for the 2024-25 season to their new £500 million Bramley-Moore Dock stadium.
Midweek action
Three midweek matches are currently scheduled. Brentford visit the Amex on Tuesday 5th December. Brighton then go to Luton on Tuesday 30th January.
It probably hasn’t been mentioned anywhere, but Albion fans will enter the away end at Kenilworth Road through a turnstile below somebody’s house.
The third midweek fixture will take the Seagulls to the Gtech Stadium for the return match against the Bees on Tuesday 2nd April.
Expect to see Tony Bloom in the away end and, with any luck, Dick Knight again stood outside shouting “I’m the president of this ****ing football club” because his ticket does not work.
Intense finish in the potential battle for Europe
If the 2023-24 season sees the same teams battling for Europe as 2022-23, then May looks like a huge month for Brighton against three of the previous campaign’s top seven.
Saturday 4th sees the Albion host Aston Villa at the Amex. The Villains qualified for the Europa Conference last time out and rarely do Brighton taste victory against them; you have to go back to December 1980 for the most recent occasion the Albion beat Villa in Sussex.
A week later and Brighton beheading to Saudi-on-Tyne to take on Newcastle. Manchester United then visit Brighton for the final game of the campaign on Sunday 19th May.
Just imagine the scenes when the Seagulls wrap up their Premier League title win and 30,000 Seagulls fans are singing at the travelling United support “You’ve seen the Albion, now **** off home.”
Revenge from the FA Cup semi final at Wembley a dish best served cold.
