Albion have already broken one record for their Premier League era.

Another solid display at Bramall Lane tonight can help them towards another.

But, as the Seagulls aim for a 12th clean sheet of the season, Graham Potter has revealed why there is extra reason for satisfaction at such a stat.

The Seagulls boss is delighted to see his side conceding fewer goals and fewer chances this season.

But, more importantly, he feels it reflects a general improvement rather than just an ability to shut up shop.

The numbers would tend to bear him out on that.

Albion recorded clean sheet No.11, which is their best tally in the Premier League, at Chelsea in midweek with six fixtures still to go.

The shut out that night – their first ever against Chelsea home or away - was rarely allowed to come under serious threat.

It was not the first such blank secured in such a way.

Potter told The Argus: “I think in all aspects of our game we have improved apart from the thing that matters the most, which is the points tally.

“Football is about variants sometimes and you can be at the wrong end of it and the right end of it.

“You have to be intelligent enough to look through that.

“I am not sure we necessarily do that all the time.

“But, from a performance perspective, a lot of what we do has improved from last year.

“I think that would be hopefully normal.

“You would hope with the coaching process and the more time we are together we get better and we understand each other more and naturally we improve.

“But it’s not a given in this league because results knock you off the path a bit sometimes and you have to stay strong.

“It’s credit to the players. We have kept clean sheets but it’s not like we are parking the bus.

“It’s not like we are on the edge of our box every game.

“They are defending with huge personality, from the goalkeeper to Dunky (captain Lewis Dunk) to everyone around them to the strikers.

“It has been a real team effort and I’m very pleased with that.”

Albion managed ten shut outs in their debut Prem campaign three years ago, followed by just seven in 2018-19 and nine last season.

Their best ever in the top flight is the 14 clean sheets in 42 matches when they finished 13th in 1981-82.

That tally could yet be beaten this time, be it on a pro rata basis or even outright.

They have already passed the ten clean sheets of 1979-80 and 1980-81 and eight when relegated in 1982-83, all of which were 42-game seasons.

The goals-against tally with six games to go is 38 compared to 54 both last year and in 2017-18 and 60 two seasons ago so a record there is in sight.

But the stats point to improvement in one regard at the other end too - and that might be more surprising.

Given they are not a free-scoring team it may come as something of a shock to learn Albion have only failed to find the net in ten of their 32 fixtures.

That is pretty much middle of the road. Two teams have the same record and seven have drawn more than ten blanks.

With six matches to go, there is scope to ensure that number remains below the tallies for the last three years.

Albion failed to score in 17 marches as a newly-promoted team in 2017-18, which is alarmingly high when you look back at it now.

That was reduced to 13 nils in each of the last two seasons.

This season’s number perhaps underlines the fact that scoring the first goal has often not been the biggest problem.

YVES BISSOUMA IS LOVING HIS FOOTBALL AT ALBION

It has been adding the second to help protect them from a potential comeback.

The goals-scored tally has gone up each year since promotion – 34, 35 and 39.

Albion are currently on 33 with six games to play.

Again, perhaps surprisingly, only four sides have been involved in more “both teams scored” matches than Albion’s current tally of 17 this term.