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Brighton and Hove Albion kick off their Premier League campaign when they face Aston Villa at the American Express Stadium in one of two 2:00 pm matches on Sunday. The Seagulls kicked off their competitive season earlier than the majority of other sides in the league when they travelled into the Arctic Circle when they faced Norweigan side Tromsø in a UEFA Conference League qualifier. Fabian Hurzeler's side dominated the majority of the match, but they were unable to find a breakthrough, with their first shot not coming until the 26th minute. Despite this, the hosts did have a great opportunity to take the lead through Heine Larsen when he had a one-on-one, but a great save from Bart Verbruggen means that next Thursday’s match is all to play for. Despite Villa’s fantastic season in their last campaign, Brighton will hope that Emery’s side have a slow start to their Premier League campaign as they did last season. How will summer signings fare? As is the case with the start of any new season, the integration of signings is always a major interest to see how they adapt to life at their new club. There has been a plethora of new additions at the American Express Stadium this summer, with the Seagulls adding eight players to their ranks since the start of June. Their most expensive signing this summer is the Croatian defender Luka Vuskovic, who joins the South Coast side on a fee worth £46 million from fellow Premier League side Tottenham. That being said, the nineteen-year-old did not make a single competitive appearance for Tottenham, with his biggest breakthrough coming last season with his loan spell at Hamburg in the Bundesliga. In Germany, he made 28 appearances for newly promoted giants Die Rothosen, where he was a revelation for their defence, finding the back of the net on six occasions. Two other defenders join the Croatian at the South Coast, with Hurzeler's side also signing Pascal Struijk from Leeds United, where he spent seven and a half seasons, and Portuguese right back Costinha from Greek giants Olympiacos. Alongside this, Brighton have also looked to strengthen their attack, with their first attacking recruitment being Zadok Yohanna from Swedish side AIK. The Nigerian played eighteen matches for the Swedish side across two seasons, with the Seagulls hoping that their transfer strategy through advanced data analytics proves successful again. Finally, their most recent acquisition could be their most exciting of all, with Canadian striker Promise David joining Brighton on loan from Belgian sister club Union Saint-Gilloise. David was one of the most exciting and dangerous players for Jesse Marsch’s Canada in their home World Cup, and will hope to carry his great form with him to the Premier League. How are Brighton expected to line up to face Unai Emery’s system? Hurzeler is widely expected to line his side up in a 4-2-3-1, as he had done so in their European qualifier in the north of Norway. Verbruggen should start in goal in what would be his fourth season at the club. He has played all but two of Brighton’s Premier League matches over the past two seasons, as well as all of the Netherlands’ World Cup matches this summer. Ferdi Kadioglu is expected to start at left back with a centre back partnership of Olivier Bascagli and new signing Luka Vuskovic, with Dutch defender Mats Wieffer at right back. Pascal Groß and Yasin Ayari, the latter of whom had an astonishing World Cup campaign for Sweden, start as the defensive midfield duo. In midfield, it is expected that Maxim De Cuyper plays as a left winger, transitioning from left wing-back, with Paraguayan Diego Gomez playing on the opposite wing and Jack Hinshelwood playing as the attacking midfielder. Georginio Rutter, who signed for the Seagulls from Leeds United in August 2024, is expected to start up top. He made 32 appearances in the league last season, getting six goal contributions. Opportunity for a Bright Start The Seagulls kicked off their Premier League campaign last season at home to Marco Silva’s Fulham. Matthew O’Riley scored from the spot in the 55th minute, but the game would be snatched from them deep in added time when Rodrigo Muniz scored an equaliser in the sixth minute of added time. It would take the South Coast side three weeks to get their first win, which came against last season's runners-up, Manchester City. Yet, the season prior is when they would have a superb start to their season, beating Everton away 3-0 in their final season at Goodison Park before beating Manchester United 2-1 at home. Brighton will hope to replicate that run this season.