Many Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers might find themselves in a pickle involving two of the division’s most in-form players ahead of Gameweek 8.
Brighton and Hove Albion duo Maxim De Cuyper (£5.3m) and Pascal Gross (£6.2m) are at the summit of FPL’s points table:
But up next for the pair: two potentially tricky away days at Liverpool and Manchester City.
So, are they benchable in Gameweek 8 (and 9) – or does form trump fixtures?
‘Big game’ record under Hurzeler
This Season
Fabian Hurzeler’s crew passed their biggest test so far of the current campaign by deservedly beating Arsenal.
Their other tricky-on-paper test, at Chelsea, was a seven-goal thriller, with Albion edged out 3-4.
| Brighton xG | Brighton xGC | |
|---|---|---|
| Chelsea 4-3 Brighton | 1.41 | 2.93 |
| Brighton 3-0 Arsenal | 1.31 | 1.63 |
Gross delivered his third double-digit haul during the Arsenal match, having earned his first in the Chelsea defeat. De Cuyper had to content himself with ‘just’ six points against the Gunners, and his sole blank so far came against the Blues.
It’s a small sample, of course, so how have Brighton fared against the elite – let’s say that constitutes Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City over the last two seasons – since Hurzeler took charge?
2024/25
vs Arsenal
Drew 1-1 (A) – Premier League
Drew 1-1 (H) – Premier League
vs Liverpool
Lost 3-2 (H) – Carabao Cup (fourth round)
Lost 2-1 (A) – Premier League
Won 3-2 (H) – Premier League
vs Man City
Won 2-1 (H) – Premier League
Drew 2-2 (A) – Premier League
Two lots of shared points with Arsenal was a commendable achievement in Hurzeler’s first season at the helm, likewise taking four points against City. Liverpool proved to be the trickiest of these three opponents, winning both encounters in the first half of the campaign and only succumbing to a Gameweek 37 defeat at the Amex after they had already been crowned champions.
Elsewhere, Brighton lost 4-2 away to Chelsea in the league but then won the return leg 3-0 a week after knocking the Blues out of the FA Cup.
They also beat both Man Utd and Tottenham home and away and Newcastle away twice (in the league and the FA Cup), finishing eighth in an altogether impressive campaign.
Gross was at Borussia Dortmund in 2024/25 while De Cuyper was still at Club Brugge.
2025/26
vs Arsenal
Lost 2-1 (A) – Premier League
Lost 1-0 (H) – Premier League
vs Liverpool
Lost 2-0 (A) – Premier League
Won 2-1 (H) – Premier League
vs Man City
Won 2-1 (H) – Premier League
Drew 1-1 (A) – Premier League
Last season, meanwhile, the Seagulls stayed unbeaten against City. Their record against the big boys in red was worse than the prior campaign, however.
Brighton also beat Chelsea twice (by an aggregate score of 6-1) with De Cuyper delivering a goal and an assist. Albion were one of just two sides – alongside Nottingham Forest – to beat both Brentford and Sunderland in notoriously tricky away tests.
Gross started each of the fixtures in the second half of the season, getting a result of each kind, though he failed to deliver an attacking return.
De Cuyper was present for the entirety of last season but sat behind Ferdi Kadioglu (£4.4m) in the left-back pecking order, starting both City games and the first Arsenal encounter but finding himself on the bench in the other three ‘big games’ listed above.Â
The situation has changed drastically this term, of course, with the Belgian’s attacking prospects and overall appeal helped by him playing on the left wing instead of as a full-back!
Liverpool + Man City data in 2026/27
| xG (rank) | xGC (rank) | |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 10.92 (9th) | 8.29 (3rd) |
| Manchester City | 15.13 (1st) | 10.05 (9th) |
Liverpool and City are almost polar opposites.
City have been swaggering going forward but actually not too impressive at the rear.
The Reds, with just nine goals scored in seven matches, have been the reverse.
Who else could you play?
The decision is not just about Gross and De Cuyper themselves, of course. It’s also about if your squad contains alternatives to either player with a better fixture on paper.
Injuries to some pricier FPL midfielders have opened the door to an even more comprehensive refresh in our engine rooms, putting players like Kevin Schade (£6.2m) – who plays Hull City this week – or Marcus Tavernier (£6.2m) – up against Man Utd – on the table for more managers.
De Cuyper’s out-of-position credentials boost his appeal as a starter no matter the match, but he too could be outscored by competitors with comparatively easier fixtures; from Leeds’ Tarik Muharemovic (£5.0m) versus bottom side Sunderland to Newcastle’s Lewis Hall (£5.3m) against Palace or even Coventry’s defensive contribution (DefCon) king Bobby Thomas (£4.0m), who hosts lacklustre Fulham.
As far as our Rate My Team projections go, De Cuyper and Gross are ranked 39th and 22nd for expected points in their respective positions in Gameweek 8.
What our contributors think…
We asked our regular contributors, Tom Hadley (one-time world number one and currently at 20k), FPL Milanista (six top 10k finishes) and FPL Meerkat, for their thoughts…
“I don’t see any reason not to play both Gross and De Cuyper this week. If you take the fixture aside, the form across the entire team is just that impressive at the minute; just look at how well they performed against Arsenal. A lot of the time in FPL we play the fixtures, but whilst Brighton are playing as well as they are, I would try to overlook the matchup.Â
“Now in terms of the fixture itself, you’d probably fancy them to score more than you’d fancy them to keep a clean sheet. But not only is De Cuyper basically a sixth midfielder slot at this moment and very capable of attacking returns, Liverpool haven’t been particularly prolific in front of goal, and you wouldn’t expect Brighton to ship a lot of goals.Â
“As for Pascal Gross, just play him and don’t think twice. His form is amazing, he’s taking penalties and the ownership is ridiculous. I guess if you have a specifically strong XI of options on paper this week outside of Brighton, then it’s absolutely fine to chance benching them, but I’m not personally overthinking it with Gross at the very least. I’m starting both Gross and Verbruggen this week but benching Vuskovic (who I wouldn’t mind playing if I had to; I just have a few other options that I prefer).” – Tom Hadley
“This is very team-dependent. Given the form Brighton are showing, there’s a case for starting either player in both Gameweeks.
“Looking at them individually, Gross is someone I’d comfortably start in both weeks. Being responsible for the majority of set pieces, particularly penalties, gives him multiple routes to points, even against difficult opposition. Neither Liverpool nor Man City has looked completely watertight defensively, which makes me less inclined to bench an attacking player like Gross purely because of the fixture.
“De Cuyper is a slightly different proposition. I know he’s been playing in an advanced role, but predicting attacking returns is less straightforward, and his clean sheet potential is limited in these fixtures. If you have defenders with better clean sheet prospects, I’d lean towards starting them over De Cuyper in both weeks, particularly in Gameweek 9 away to City, where I’d struggle to see Brighton containing their attacking firepower.” – FPL Milanista
“I would really want to start Gross this week, with so many routes to points it’s likely he’ll grab some sort of return. However, if you have seven other attackers with a good fixture, I can make an argument for benching him.
“I’d be fine benching De Cuyper. Keeping a clean sheet at Anfield will be tricky and it’s likely most/all your other defenders have a better fixture this week. The same is said about Gameweek 9; it feels unlikely De Cuyper will return highly in either game.” – FPL Meerkat
…and what you think
We’ve been running a poll this week, asking site users what they’re doing with the in-form Brighton pair.
And here are the results…
Final thoughts
Ultimately, the depth of your own FPL squads might dictate whether you start the pair this week.
If you own, say, two Arsenal defenders and Muharemovic, then De Cuyper is more benchable than if your alternatives are, for instance, Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.9m) and James Tarkowski (£6.2m).
Hurzeler’s Brighton have been competitive with the Premier League elite ever since his appointment. They’ve stepped it up a notch even further this season, swatting aside Arsenal and running Chelsea close.
So, if you are in a position where you may be 50/50 with another squad member, or are even considering bringing in a new acquisition just to cover Brighton picks for 1/2 weeks, there’s plenty of reasons – high ownership being one – to just go with the form pair even in fixtures of this magnitude. That goes for Gross especially, given that he won’t be penalised for any goal concessions.
