Brighton and Hove Albion away form not as bad as it looks

The last seven matches have produced two points and one goal, Glenn Murray's early penalty in the draw at Southampton.

Are they really doing that badly on their travels, or is their record without home comforts par for the course for a promoted team?

The first six away fixtures yielded a healthy two wins and a draw. It could have been even better if they had not lost after leading at Bournemouth.

The early encouragement was flattering. The point came against a Watford side playing with ten men for an hour, the successive wins against West Ham (below) and Swansea against teams in disarray with managers subsequently replaced.

The downturn since then has, with one or two exceptions, been predictable considering the opposition.

Three of the defeats were against Manchester United - where Albion played well and were unfortunate not to take something - Tottenham and Chelsea.

There have been some surprise results recently, Swansea beating Liverpool and Arsenal, Chelsea losing to Watford and Bournemouth.

Bournemouth won handsomely at Stamford Bridge, but they are an exceptional case (more of which later).

The chances of one of the strugglers picking up bonus points against one of the top six reduce dramatically if they are playing them away rather than at home.

Albion had acceptable draws on the road during the recent sequence at Newcastle (below) over Christmas and at Southampton last week.

They have let themselves down twice, in the 2-0 defeats at Huddersfield and West Brom, who are now bottom and next-to-bottom.

Nine points out of 39 overall on their travels sounds a paltry return. In fact, it is nothing new, especially for clubs that have just come up from the Championship.

Huddersfield have a point less away from home so far, a record which is unlikely to improve much. Half of their remaining games are at Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester City.

Newcastle have done a bit better with 12. St James' Park has been the burden for them - they are bottom of the home only table.

Established top flight clubs in Everton (eight), West Brom (seven) and Stoke (six) have all consigned their travelling supporters to more pointless journeys than Albion's.

The Seagulls, with six away games still to go, already have a better haul than two of last season's promoted clubs.

Hull went down with six points. Burnley (seven) survived thanks to a formidable record at Turf Moor. Middlesbrough (ten) were also relegated.

Burnley were relegated with 14 away points in 2014-15, QPR with just seven. Leicester stayed up with 15.

Bournemouth and Watford bucked the trend totals in 2015-16. Bournemouth collected 22 away points, Watford 21.

Bournemouth, unusually, finished with more away points than at home. Norwich (11 away points) made an immediate return to the Championship.

This season is extraordinary, with Huddersfield in 19th and West Ham in ninth divided by three points.

The congestion is reflected in the away only table. Crystal Palace and Swansea are just above Albion (ten points), West Ham and Southampton have 11.

Stoke represents one of four tough but realistic opportunities for Albion to add to their away total. They also still have to go to Everton, Palace and Burnley.

Manchester City and Liverpool are a different matter, although who knows what the situation will be when they visit Anfield on the final day? Funny things happen when teams are desperate.

Albion will hope to have enough wins by then to be safe. The Amex will be key. Four of their six victories have come at home, so the matches against Swansea, Leicester and Huddersfield look crucial.

They also entertain Arsenal and, in their final two home games, Spurs and Manchester United.

The away form has been no worse than anticipated. It is failing to convert a couple of the six home draws - particularly those in which they led against Everton and Bournemouth - which has denied them a comfortable cushion and place inside the top ten.