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            <p><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/the-best-brighton-fpl-players">Brighton and Hove Albion</a> have hired Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach - but what is the Italian coach's philosophy and how will it impact Brighton players' fantasy football prospects?</p>
<p>We take a look at De Zerbi's history, what Albion have said about him and an in-depth tactical analysis, which will prove useful for all fantasy formats.</p>
<p>Finally, we'll look at which Brighton players could prosper under new management.</p>
<p>To do this, the Hub has teamed up with Miles Dobson (<a href="https://twitter.com/statistactical">Milo</a>) - a qualified football analyst. Milo has completed stints with the academy teams at Nottingham Forest and West Ham United.</p>
<p>He has a Masters in sport performance analysis and boosted his knowledge with a tactical analysis course at Barcelona's Innovation Hub, so we are in good hands in assessing the Premier League's newest manager.</p>
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<h2>Roberto De Zerbi - the history and why Brighton hired him</h2>
<p>De Zerbi, 43, was an attacking midfielder who played for a range of mostly Italian clubs in a career which stretched from 1998 to 2013.</p>
<p>He scored 53 goals in 259 appearances, with clubs including Napoli, CFR Cluj and AC Milan - although he never played a senior game for the latter.</p>
<p>He began his managerial career in the Italian lower leagues and had spells in Serie A with Palermo and Benevento.</p>
<p>His first tastes of Serie A management were not notably successful, although it was third-time lucky when he took charge of Sassuolo.</p>
<p>According to Brighton's <a href="https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/2796866/roberto-de-zerbi-confirmed-as-new-albion-head-coach">website</a>, this was where De Zerbi's 'attacking style and possession-based approach really caught the eye'.</p>
<p>The club added: "He led the small Emilian club to consecutive eighth-place finishes in Serie A, before accepting an offer to join Shakhtar Donetsk.</p>
<p>"His time in Ukraine was cut short by the Russian invasion, but not before he’d led the club to the Ukrainian Super Cup, and he left with the club top of the first division."</p>
<p>The phrase 'possession-based approach' provides an insight into Brighton's thinking in hiring De Zerbi.</p>
<p>Far from the change in direction signalled by taking on Graham Potter after dispensing with the services of Chris Hughton, De Zerbi is likely to represent a less significant shift in style.</p>
<p>Albion chief executive Paul Barber said: "We feel Roberto is the ideal cultural and technical fit for Brighton &amp; Hove Albion, and the right person to continue the club’s progress and work with this outstanding group of players.”</p>
<h2>What has Roberto De Zerbi said about joining Brighton?</h2>
<p>De Zerbi was announced as Brighton's new head coach on Sunday (September 18), subject to a work permit.</p>
<p>But his official unveiling was delayed until Tuesday, as a 'mark of respect' to Queen Elizabeth II, whose state funeral was held on Monday.</p>
<p>De Zerbi took questions from the media and on his football values compared to Brighton's, he said: "For me it is very very easy to start working in Brighton because I know the work by Potter before me.</p>
<p>"There are a lot of players very close to my idea of football.</p>
<p>"They have the right skills and the right characteristics, especially mentally, to play my football and play bravely as I want."</p>
<p>Club chairman Tony Bloom said there would be 'differences' in style post-Potter but also 'lots of similarities', which was important when selecting Potter's successor.</p>
<p>And technical director David Weir hoped Brighton fans could look forward to football that was 'exciting to watch', in the mould of De Zerbi's Sassuolo and Shakhtar.</p>
<h2>Who do Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton play in the coming weeks?</h2>
<p>De Zerbi is expected to take charge of his first game after the international break - and it is a tough one.</p>
<p>Brighton travel to Liverpool, before another tough fixture at home to Tottenham Hotspur.</p>
<p>This may allow fantasy managers some wriggle room when assessing Brighton's prospects under De Zerbi, however with <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/what-is-the-fantasy-premier-league-wildcard-and-when-to-use-it">Wildcard</a> season in full swing, some will want an idea of what they are dealing with as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Brentford away and a home tie against Nottingham Forest follows, before an away game versus Manchester City and a reunion with Potter.</p>
<p>Check out how Brighton's fixture run compares to their Premier League rivals with the Hub's <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fixture-ticker">fixture ticker</a>.</p>
<h2>What are Roberto De Zerbi's tactics?</h2>
<p>Analyst Milo takes things from here - and focuses on his time at Sassuolo to get a flavour of what we might be able to expect from De Zerbi at Brighton.</p>
<h3>What kind of manager is Roberto De Zerbi and what is his style of play?</h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">De Zerbi is renowned for his attacking principles of play.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He encourages his team to retain possession, with a focus on short passing.</span></p>
<p>Although he has the ability to be flexible in his tactics, the Italian  generally set up his Sassuolo team with a 4-2-3-1 formation, which changed in shape depending on which phase of play his team was in.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">De Zerbi's style of football requires a lot of movement and ball rotation, which builds from the back.</span></p>
<p>In a typical 4-2-3-1 formation, you might expect the full-backs to push up high and wide.</p>
<p>Utilising high and wide full-backs is a concept employed by the likes of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.</p>
<p>But De Zerbi's approach at Sassuolo differed slightly, in that his full-backs pushed up but tended not to advance beyond the halfway line.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">De Zerbi's side actively invited the opposition to press in order to break the opposition lines with vertical passes. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The midfield would be expected to receive the ball in between the lines and remain close to each other to offer and provide support with one-touch/bounce passes and rotate possession into the offensive third.</span></p>
<h4>Offensive movement</h4>
<p><strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><em>Join the Hub to view our full analysis and a look at which Brighton players could propser under De Zerbi </em><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></strong></p>
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How will Roberto De Zerbi affect Brighton players’ fantasy football prospects?

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