Regis Le Bris is confident Sunderland have the attacking depth to cope with Brian Brobbey's absence versus Brighton, who he feels have made a near-perfect start to the season.

Sunderland emerge from the international break 14th in the Premier League table with four points from five games, the most recent of which was a 5-3 defeat to Manchester City.

Brobbey scored a hat-trick in that match, becoming the first player to score a Premier League treble and finish on the losing side since December 2007, when Roque Santa Cruz did so for Blackburn Rovers against Wigan Athletic.

Brobbey then suffered a hamstring injury while representing the Netherlands, but he is not expected to miss a significant amount of time, and Le Bris is confident the Black Cats can handle his short-term absence.  

"I'm happy – we set a clear picture of this position with three strikers. I think Brian is in a really good place and he's started the season really well," Le Bris said. 

"A small injury is not a problem, but it's true we'd like to have him fit. 

"We have Wilson [Isidor], who is a really good striker with a different style of play but really competitive for the Premier League and showed his qualities last season."

Brighton have been one of the stories of the season so far, and they spent the international break in third place after routing champions Arsenal 3-0 in their most recent game.

The Seagulls, who also crushed Coventry City 5-0 on matchday four, are the Premier League's leading scorers this term with 16 goals, and their dazzling form led to a monthly award double.

Head coach Fabian Hurzeler was named Manager of the Month and midfielder Pascal Gross earned the players' prize, which Le Bris said was richly deserved.   

 RLB on Brighton: 'They have had a good start to the season with a young, dynamic squad. It will be a challenge, but we know our strengths...' https://t.co/eJpCXNwCP7

— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) October 8, 2026

"They are good – the Player of the Month and Manager of the Month were well deserved. It was a perfect start," he said of Brighton.

"A really good team, well coached, good energy, with a high press – they are modern and really efficient. We like this challenge. 

"This is the Premier League and it is relentless. We don't want fear, we are just excited for the challenge and it's going to be a tough test."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Sunderland – Granit Xhaka 

Only Youri Tielemans (37) has made more line-breaking passes into the final third this season than Sunderland captain Xhaka (36), while only three players have made more line-breaking passes leading to shots than his 12.

Brighton – Pascal Gross

In 2026, only Bruno Fernandes (98) and Dominik Szoboszlai (58) have created more Premier League chances than Brighton midfielder Gross (54), who also ranks sixth for expected assists (4.68 xA). 

He could now become only the second midfielder to both score and assist in three successive Premier League games, after Cesc Fabregas for Arsenal in September 2007.

MATCH PREDICTION – BRIGHTON WIN

Sunderland have won just one of their eight top-flight meetings with Brighton (D2 L5), beating them 3-0 at Roker Park in May 1982.

But the Seagulls have a poor record away against Sunderland, with a 1-0 win in this exact fixture last campaign being their only victory in their last 10 league trips (D2 L7).

Sunderland have lost their last two Premier League games, against last season's top two in Arsenal (0-2) and Man City (3-5). 

They only lost three in a row once in 2025-26, doing so in February against the Gunners (0-3), Liverpool (0-1) and Fulham (1-3).

Brighton, meanwhile, have won their last two Premier League games by an aggregate score of 8-0; only in October 2018 have they won three successive matches in the competition without conceding.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Sunderland – 33.1%

Brighton – 41.3%

Draw – 25.6%