Hughton’s Brighton & Hove Albion side welcome Leeds United to the Amex Stadium on Friday.
Brighton & Hove Albion boss Chris Hughton has told the club’s official website that Leeds United are in one of their best periods courtesy of Garry Monk.
Second-place Brighton welcome Leeds to the Amex Stadium on Friday, with two places and seven points separating the two teams.
Though the Seagulls only narrowly failed to gain automatic promotion last time around, their Yorkshire opponents have not been properly involved at the top of the division since 2010-11.
And Hughton, who led Newcastle United to the title the previous campaign and has since taken two others to the play-offs, credits Monk, and the stability he has brought to Elland Road, with the Whites’ transformation.
“I think they’ve been excellent,” the 57-year-old said. “We’ve all followed the Leeds of the last few seasons and the changes, but one thing that’s never changed is that Leeds is a very difficult place to visit.
“They’ve got a fanatical crowd, a big stadium and they travel with a big crowd, so there’s always been this feel about Leeds, and everyone has been waiting for them to reach the levels they’ve had in the past.
“This is one of their best periods and I think they’ve got a lot of stability in the team at the moment. They’ve got an excellent manager who’s managed at the top level.
“He [Monk] created a team at Swansea, even though others contributed before him, but he’s very much putting his stamp on the team [Leeds] now.”
Leeds were beaten twice by Brighton last season, with an aggregate score of 6-1. However, the Whites promise to be far tougher opponents this time around, having lost just one of their last seven league matches.
The hosts will leapfrog Newcastle at the top if they win and the Magpies drop points against another of Hughton’s old clubs, Birmingham City.
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