Albion love the pressure of being expected to win back-to-back home games over Christmas.

That is the warning from skipper Bruno to rivals trying to hunt them down in the Championship promotion race.

The Seagulls face struggling Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff at the Amex in festive fixtures.

They have an eight-point lead over the chasing pack after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Birmingham last Saturday with late goals by Anthony Knockaert and Glenn Murray.

Bruno said: “We love that pressure. We play always to win. I think we showed it in that last game against Birmingham. We were 1-0 down, equalised and went straight to get the ball to try to score the winner.

“That’s our mentality and if you want to be there you have to (try to) win every game. It is so important, even when you are not at your best, to keep pushing and fighting for every single ball. That shows the character and winning mentality.”

Albion are 25 points better off than Ian Holloway’s lowly Rangers, so a sell-out crowd at the Amex on Tuesday will expect to see Chris Hughton’s side maintain their march towards the Premier League.

Bruno said: “We like to play with that pressure but we know how difficult it’s going to be to beat QPR.

“They haven’t had good results lately but I’ve watched a few of their games and they have played well.

“They’ve been unlucky with some decisions and some goals. It’s going to be a tough game.”