'Future captain' - Little-known £2m Brighton star picked as player of the season so far ahead of Liverpool test

Brighton and Hove Albion return to Premier League action this Sunday at Anfield following the international break. Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls are eighth in the league standings and in the mix for European qualification once again with 10 matches to go. Here’s an overview of where Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton are at this season, formations, best players and a predicted starting XI for the showdown with Jurgen Klopp’s title-chasers. The questions were put to me from Joe Urquhart at @LFC

Can you give us a brief overview of the season so far for Brighton? (Premier League/Europe)? Very challenging season for Brighton. They lost their two best players last summer in Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo to Liverpool and Chelsea respectively. They have also suffered season ending injuries to Solly March, Jack Hinshelwood and Kaoru Mitoma, while former Reds James Milner and Adam Lallana and key attackers Julio Enciso and Joao Pedro have missed large chunks of the campaign. On top of that, they have had to balance the Premier League and Europa League - so all in all De Zerbi has done pretty well to manage that and keep Brighton in the hunt for Europe once more with 10 games to go.

What is Roberto De Zerbi’s style of play and his preferred formation? Ideally it's four at the back with two midfielders - usually Pascal Gross and Billy Gilmour - in front and the rest is organised chaos in attack. The attacking positions are always pretty fluid with De Zerbi and changes often throughout the 90 minutes. His No 1 choice is Mitoma and March cutting in from the flanks but injuries have prevented that this term. Also, who plays in goal between Bart Verbruggen and Jason Steele is anyone's guess.

Who has been Brighton’s key player(s) this season? I've been really impressed with young Netherlands defender Jan Paul van Hecke. It's his breakthrough season in the Premier League and he and Lewis Dunk have struck up a decent partnership at the back. De Zerbi recently praised van Hecke – who joined Brighton in 2020 from NAC Breda for around £2m – and said he can be future captain. Gilmour has become a trusted regular in midfield, while AFCON winner Simon Adingra is a danger from wide areas. Pedro also impressed before his thigh injury with 19-goals following his £30m summer switch from Watford. Hopefully his fit to play this Sunday.

Lastly, what is your predicted line-up? Always tough to call with RDZ - particularly after an international break - but I'll go with a 4-2-3-1: Steele; Lamptey, Van Hecke, Dunk, Igor; Gilmour, Gross; Fati, Adingra, Pedro; Welbeck.