Brighton have not dressed their final pre-season fortnight as a soft landing. They have gone the other way.
The club have confirmed home friendlies against Roma and Bologna, with Sky Sports listing Roma at the Amex on August 8 and Bologna a week later on August 15. For Fabian Hurzeler, that is more than a useful ticketing line. It is a serious European calibration exercise before the real traffic arrives.
We'll be hosting @OfficialASRoma on Saturday 8 August and @BolognaFC1909en on Saturday 15 August in our 2026/27 pre-season friendlies! 🏟️
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) June 25, 2026
Albion already know this season cannot be treated like a standard domestic campaign. Their return to Europe means the squad has to be ready for Thursday-Sunday rhythm, for opponent variation, and for the kind of tactical patience that Premier League football does not always demand.
Serie A Opposition Gives Hurzeler The Right Kind Of Problem
Roma and Bologna are not glamorous placeholders. They are useful because they will ask Brighton different questions.
Roma should give Hurzeler a test of control. Italian sides are usually comfortable living through slower passages, protecting central spaces and waiting for one poor Brighton pass to become a transition. That matters because Albion’s build-up can look brave when it works and fragile when the spacing is loose.
Bologna should offer a different type of stress. Their recent identity has been built around smart rotations, aggressive midfield occupation and quick technical combinations. That is precisely the type of opponent Brighton could face in the Conference League play-off phase, where unfamiliar styles can punish a side that has only prepared for Premier League tempo.
The dates also matter. Sky’s pre-season guide has the Premier League starting on August 21, while Albion’s league opener comes shortly after. By then, Hurzeler cannot still be discovering which partnerships work. Roma and Bologna have to be used as evidence, not warm-up scenery.
Brighton’s Defensive Rebuild Needs Proper Pressure
This is where the friendlies become especially valuable. Brighton’s defensive unit has been in a state of transition, with Jan Paul van Hecke’s move to Tottenham, Joel Veltman and Adam Webster departures, and Costinha’s arrival changing the balance of the back line.
Hurzeler needs to know how his new structure behaves when the opposition refuse to chase. That is a different test from a frantic Premier League game in which both sides give the ball away. Against Serie A opposition, Brighton’s centre-backs and full-backs should be forced to make cleaner decisions: when to step in, when to recycle, when to risk the vertical pass.
Costinha’s role will be one to watch. Brighton signed him as a natural right-back, but the wider question is whether he can immediately handle the tactical weight of Hurzeler’s system. The position is rarely just defensive at Albion. It is part full-back, part midfielder, part escape route.
If Brighton want to carry control into Europe, they cannot rely only on individual recovery pace. They need distances, rest defence and better protection around central turnovers. Roma and Bologna should expose those details quickly.
The Amex Friendlies Are A Selection Trial
The biggest mistake would be to treat these matches as ceremonial. They should function as a selection trial for the first competitive month.
Hurzeler has a squad with young talent, saleable assets and new defensive pieces. He also has a fixture list that will punish muddled rotation. The Roma and Bologna games give him a rare chance to test combinations against credible European opponents without paying for mistakes in the table.
For supporters, the appeal is obvious: two strong opponents at the Amex before the season opens. For Hurzeler, the stakes are sharper. Brighton’s European return will not be decided by the names on the pre-season poster, but these games can reveal whether the squad is genuinely ready for the demands that come next.
