A couple of first-half goals, coupled with an Igor Thiago (£7.8m) red card, secured Brighton and Hove Albion’s sixth win and clean sheet in seven matches.

Fabian Hurzeler’s in-form side are now, incredibly, in second place, above Manchester City.

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Here are our Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Scout Notes from the American Express Stadium.

VUSKOVIC BEATS DE CUYPER

Three of FPL’s four highest scorers belong to Brighton, including defenders Maxim De Cuyper (£5.5m) and Luka Vuskovic (£5.3m). Both experienced another price rise overnight.

By adding an assist and bonuses to the clean sheet, Vuskovic’s 12-point tally means he’s won four of the last eight Gameweek battles against his teammate.

However, it would’ve been different had De Cuyper scored one of his three penalty-area shots, including a huge fourth-minute chance that saw Pascal Gross (£6.3m) cushion a crossfield pass onto his close-range header. The Belgian should have at least put it on target. Early in the second half, the same combination led to an acrobatic attempt.

In fact, 0.73 is the Belgian’s biggest expected goal involvement (xGI) since the opening weekend. He remains the leading defender for this (3.90), plus chances created (22), big chances created (5) and successful passes into the box (25).

De Cuyper’s 13 overall returns are at least three ahead of every other FPL individual.

Some managers prefer Vuskovic because he regularly gets defensive contribution (DefCon) points and has the better long-term minutes security.

In truth, owning both could turn out brilliantly, given the fixtures ahead.

MITOMA LATEST

Indeed, it looks like De Cuyper’s main positional rival, Kaoru Mitoma (£5.9m), may not be back straight after the international break, as originally suggested.

“There’s big hope and big belief that this will be the case but it might be that we need one or two weeks longer, so I can’t say this is the game he will be back.

“We give him the time he needs and we know that if he’s back on his highest level he will be very important for us.” – Fabian Hurzeler on whether Kaoru Mitoma will return in Gameweek 11, via the Argus

Even when Mitoma is back in first-team contention, he’s not kicked a ball competitively since May. You’d imagine he’ll get a string of substitute appearances first, just as Yankuba Minteh (£5.8m) and Mats Wieffer (£4.8m) are getting now.

GOMEZ IS FPL’S FIFTH-BEST MIDFIELDER – BUT MINTEH IS BACK

Moving further upfield, the deadlock was broken by another Diego Gomez (£5.0m) stunner. Though not quite from the halfway line, like the one against Crystal Palace, this saw him collect a defensive clearance, compose himself, then unleash a thunderous left-footer.

Now on 51 points, the bargain Paraguayan is currently FPL’s fifth-best midfielder. He’s ahead of names like Cole Palmer (£9.8m), Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m), Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) and Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.8m).

Starting every match, Gomez’s two goals and three assists don’t particularly stand out. However, thanks to many small clean sheet rewards and a couple of DefCon triumphs, he’s only twice brought in fewer than three points.

But a word of caution to those wanting to buy him now: Minteh’s late cameo, after an EFL Cup runout, was his first league minutes of 2026/27. It could eventually (as De Cuyper/Mitoma above) lead to some rotation during the busy December.

THREE-MATCH THIAGO BAN

Meanwhile, any hopes of this being a competitive contest were over by half-time. Already one booking away from a suspension, Brentford’s Thiago received a straight red card when a long VAR check noticed that his arm caught Chema Andres (£5.5m) in the face.

Above: A red line represents the moment when Igor Thiago picked up a red card

During this subsequent three-match ban, we might see Callum Wilson (£5.3m) or midfielder Kevin Schade (£6.1m) play up front.

An out-of-position Schade has some appeal, but he was booked here and involved in only one goal attempt. Yet to create a chance since Gameweek 3, his five successive blanks totalled a mere seven points.

GROSS AGAIN

The sending off ensured one-way traffic from then on, as Keane Lewis-Potter‘s (£5.5m) foul on Vuskovic allowed Gross to end his recent lull by smashing a penalty into the top corner. This resulted in a season-high 1.52 xGI for the German.

Retired from international football, Gross enters this rest period as the league leader for setting up chances (29) and creating big opportunities (eight). He didn’t get a fifth yellow card, to the relief of many.

Down by two goals and one man, Brentford didn’t put any shots on target to test Bart Verbruggen (£4.6m). No big chances, either. The easiest clean sheet he’ll ever get.

As for DefCon, Kristoffer Ajer (£4.5m) was the sole individual to meet the threshold, but his booking meant just two points.

Mamadou Sangare (£5.4m) might have reached 12 actions, if not for a 58th-minute substitution. 60% of his appearances this season have lasted 62 minutes or less.

CONTRASTING FIXTURES

The Bees’ first away defeat precedes a tougher upcoming schedule that places them at the bottom of our Fixture Ticker between Gameweeks 11 and 16. In truth, it’s only Gameweeks 13 and 14 that really deter investment, given the struggles of Manchester United, and the mediocre displays of Fulham and Newcastle United.

Meanwhile, Brighton’s run is fourth-best. Will the Seagulls’ huge expected goals (xG, +6.67) and expected goals conceded (xGC, -6.59) overachievements soon regress, or do they have a genuine shot at winning the Premier League title? They’re worth a triple-up, while we find out.