Why Joao Pedro's positioning makes him a hard player to pin down

Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can be decisive in Matchweek 13.

Player analysis: Joao Pedro (Brighton)

At key moments Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler knows he can rely on Joao Pedro to deliver.

The 23-year-old Brazilian has only featured in six Premier League matches so far this season, but his six combined goals and assists are already worth an extra nine points to Brighton.

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He scored a late winner at home to Manchester United, and assisted strikes that turned out to be the winning goals against Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth too.

Earlier on in the campaign Joao Pedro also dispatched an equalising goal in their 1-1 draw at Arsenal.

With a calm head and rounded skillset, he is proving to be an invaluable member of the Brighton team.

What does Joao Pedro give Brighton?

Joao Pedro has the versatility to operate in different areas of the forward line, he is quick and bright with his movement, possesses an eye for a pass and can also dribble past players with ease.

Since joining Brighton though, it is his intuition which has improved the most.

Joao Pedro has become a natural poacher having developed a real eye for where the ball might fall inside the box.

He drifted cleverly into space to score with a free header at home to Man Utd and followed in astutely to convert a rebound from Yankuba Minteh’s shot in the 1-1 draw at Arsenal.

This pattern continued last time out at Bournemouth when he anticipated where the ball would fall after Georginio Rutter’s shot was parried by Kepa.

Joao Pedro reacting to Rutter's shot to score v Bournemouth

This is the kind of habit that could lead to Joao Pedro becoming a prolific goalscorer.

He scored 20 goals in 2023/24 in all competitions and providing he can stay fit, is capable of increasing that tally in the future.

What is Joao Pedro's strength?

There is no doubt that Joao Pedro has one of the coolest temperaments among Premier League forwards.

He consistently displays an ice-cool nerve from the penalty spot, scoring all but one of his five spot-kicks in the Premier League, and this season he is translating that quality into his open-play finishing too.

When you analyse all the Premier League players who have netted at least four goals this season (27 in total) he has been the most lethal of them all, successfully converting 44.4 per cent of his opportunities.

Unsurprisingly, this also puts him into the top five for goalscoring efficiency, finding the back of the net once every 92.5 minutes.

PL attackers 24/25 conversion rate and minutes per goal

*Minimum four goals scored

He may not start up front as the centre-forward, but upcoming opponents Southampton will need to keep very close tabs on a player who does not need many chances to find the back of the net.

How does he fit into Hurzeler’s style?

When Joao Pedro joined the Premier League with Watford in 2021/22, he was regarded as a striker, albeit a front man that was mobile enough to drop into pockets.

This is a "passes received" map from that campaign leading the line for the Hornets, outlining how centrally he was used.

In the 2023/24 campaign he scored three goals in 28 appearances.

This season, Hurzeler prefers to utilise Joao Pedro in a central attacking midfield role, and just as he was in 2023/24, he is drawn towards the left wing.

Hurzeler can accommodate this because he is happy for any of his four forwards to interchange positions. And with Rutter stationed on the right flank at the moment, Pedro’s left-side bias allows him to slide infield.

From this position Joao Pedro is excellent at finding pockets of space to link play, or to make telling runs from.

He pops up unexpectedly to hurt opponents.

This chance (below) against Man City came from a sprint he made from that exact part of the field, and he was unfortunate not to score in the 1v1.

An eye for the slide-rule pass

Another reason why Hurzeler is a fan of using his No 9 in a deeper role lies in his ability to deliver telling through-balls.

During an outstanding run of form in which he has produced four goals and two assists across his last five outings, Joao Pedro’s distribution has made a difference.

He linked beautifully with Danny Welbeck - two players who are developing a tremendous chemistry - and drifted infield to great effect against Man City before slipping Matt O’Riley in behind for an unforgettable winner.

Joao Pedro's pass to O'Riley v Man City

While that was a superb pass, Joao Pedro produced a stunning assist in the 2-1 win at Bournemouth last weekend.

After being given time and space to think about his best option, he executed a sublime angled through-ball which was perfectly weighted for Kaoru Mitoma to score.

It was one of the classiest assists of the season so far.

Joao Pedro's perfect pass to Mitoma v Bournemouth

Top level talent

Just like fellow Brazilian Matheus Cunha, Brighton’s Joao Pedro has run into some fabulous early winter form.

Last weekend he became the first player to both score and assist in successive appearances in the competition for the Seagulls and if Southampton do not shackle him closely, he has the potential to complete a very special hat-trick on Friday evening.

Joao Pedro has proven he can supply top-class end product on a regular basis, revelling in a role that allows him the freedom to readily interchange with Mitoma, Welbeck or Rutter.

When he is on or off the ball, Russell Martin’s side will always need to have their eyes on Brighton’s cool-headed front man.

Next: Adrian Clarke previews Liverpool v Man City

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