Brighton & Hove Albion have made a relatively good start to their 2016/17 Sky Bet Championship campaign.

2-0 defeats to Newcastle and Brentford were followed up by solid 1-0 wins over then-unbeaten Huddersfield and new boys Burton, meaning that Chris Hughton finds his team sat in 7th place after eight games, only outside of the play-offs on goal difference.

It was always going to be tough to get the club to challenge for promotion again so soon after failing last season, but the Seagulls are in the mix.

This weekend, they host Barnsley, who have been one of the surprise packages so far.

The Tykes are sat in 4th place, just a solitary point ahead of Brighton following their 2-1 defeat to Reading last Saturday.

Considering that this time last season Barnsley were nearing the bottom of League One, the rise of the Oakwell-based club has been something to rival the likes of Leicester and Bournemouth.

It promises to be a great game, with both sides able to go into the automatic promotion spots if they can be victorious on Saturday.

Here, in the opinion of FLW's Ryan Evans, is a Brighton XI that will beat Barnsley when they make the trek down to Sussex this weekend...

 

GK: David Stockdale

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Probably the first name on the team sheet, a string of good performances has left Chris Hughton no choice but to pick Stockdale for the league games at least.

Niki Maenpaa deputised for the Englishman in Tuesday's defeat to Reading in the EFL Cup, but with four clean sheets in seven games and having only conceded six, Stockdale will be the one in the net come 3pm on Saturday.

This is the 31-year old's third season at the Amex, with over 100 appearances during that time.

RB: Bruno

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Mr Reliable in the Albion back four, Bruno has had a very decent start to the 2016-17 season, and his performances have got better since moving across to right-back for the last four league games.

That's the position he played in so well in the last campaign, and, thanks to the incredible form of the current centre-back duo, that's the position I think he should play on Saturday.

The 17 minutes he missed after being substituted in the Burton win last weekend was the only time he's not been on the pitch in the Championship this season, and the Spaniard looks once again like he'll be a pivotal member of whatever the Seagulls will achieve this season.

CB: Lewis Dunk

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At just 24-years of age, Dunk is entering his eighth season at the Amex, having made 158 appearances for them so far.

He is one of the most talented centre-backs in the division, and attracted plenty of interest from elsewhere over the summer.

Chris Hughton managing to keep him at the club was a major boost, as he has the ability to grow into one of the best defenders in the country.

He was previously called up to the England Under-21 squad, but didn't feature. If Dunk does have a good game on Saturday, then he could win his side the game.

CB: Shane Duffy

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Duffy was highly sought-after this summer after a very good season alongside the now-Newcastle centre-back Grant Hanley at Blackburn, where their partnership was the major reason behind Rovers having a surprisingly good defensive record for their position.

As it turned out, Brighton managed to get their hands on his services, and the Dunk-Duffy partnership could prove to be a mouth-watering one for all at the Amex.

He's the same age as his positional partner and has appeared in all four of the club's games since his arrival towards the end of the summer transfer window, giving him seven appearances so far and two clean sheets.

LB: Gaetan Bong

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Arguably the weakest position in Hughton's team, the left-back slot for every Championship game this season has gone to Gaetan Bong.

He's made two assists along the way but looks hap-hazardous with his defending at times, which brings his starting spot into question.

The 28-year old, who started out as the club's first choice left-back last season before a serious injury, now has competition for his spot after the deadline day signing of Sebastien Pocognoli, who played 70 minutes in the defeat to Reading in midweek.

Chris Hughton is likely to stick with Bong for Saturday's match and the foreseeable future, but signing a high quality left-back is surely his priority in January.

RM: Anthony Knockaert

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The flair player of Brighton right now, Knockaert signed in January and put in some eye-catching performances in the latter stages of last season, and has started this one just as well.

He has four goals from his eight games already, and if he can keep up that ratio he could fire the Seagulls to the Premier League.

However, he hasn't scored for a couple of weeks so will be chomping at the bit to get back on the score-sheet, and he definitely has the ability to be able to do so.

CM: Dale Stephens

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It's been a tough summer for the player who was so important to his club last season; not being allowed to move to Premier League side Burnley even after handing in a transfer request and being temporarily dropped.

However, he was reinstated in the starting XI from the Huddersfield game and has helped his side to two wins since.

If Brighton do end up winning promotion this season, then Stephens is likely to be a massive part of it.

CM: Beram Kayal

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Stephens' partner on Saturday is likely to be Israeli international Beram Kayal.

He's only missed the one league game this season and appears to be Hughton's number one midfielder.

He has 132 appearances for Celtic before he moved to Brighton in January 2015, and was one of their best players last season, making 45 appearances in the league.

 

LM: Jiri Skalak

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The 24-year old, who has 13 caps for the Czech Republic, has only not featured in one Championship game this season, coming on as a sub in one and starting the other six.

Although his exploits have been overshadowed by that of Knockaert's, he's still put in great performances and has been involved in nine goals during his short time in Sussex.

Skalak is a player that full-backs hate playing against, and that could work in Brighton's favour when they face Barnsley this weekend.

ST: Glenn Murray

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Probably the most eye-catching of this summer's signings, Murray has scored three and set up another in his eight appearances since joining on loan from AFC Bournemouth.

He's featured in every game, but has only come on for the last 20 minutes in the previous two games and is goalless since 16th August.

I expect he'll be given the nod over Sam Baldock in this one, and he definitely has the ability to make the Tykes defence pay for any mistakes they make.

ST: Tomer Hemed

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The final player in my Brighton XI is Tomer Hemed, who netted his second of the season in the win over Burton last weekend.

He's taken his time to get going, but scored 17 last season so definitely has talent. As he scored last weekend, he'll get the nod on Saturday, and will hope build on that.

The Israeli hasn't scored in back to back games since February, and will also hope to put an end to that burden.

Brighton fans, what do you think? Would this XI win you the game? What changes would you make? Let us know your thoughts and opinions via the comments below!