Brighton & Hove Albion will be looking to get a new era off to a winning start when they host Reading at the Amex Stadium on Boxing Day.

Santa Claus was not the only man to get the sack this week, with Sami Hyypia leaving the Seagulls after a thoroughly disappointing 22 games in charge.

The expected playoff challengers instead find themselves in the bottom three approaching the halfway point of the season, and even a win on Friday would not be enough to see them climb out of the relegation zone.

Something certainly needed to change for the club, and Danny Batth's late equaliser to rescue a 1-1 draw for Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday proved to be the final straw for Hyypia.

That extended Brighton's winless streak to six matches, while they have only won once in their last 18 Championship outings - a run that stretches all the way back to August.

They have won just three times all season, while bottom-of-the-table Blackpool are the only side who have amassed fewer home points than the Seagulls.

The likes of Tim Sherwood and Tony Pulis have been linked with the job, but whoever comes in has a big task on their hands to turn things around.

For now, interim manager Nathan Jones will take the reins, and he has already recalled Craig Mackail-Smith from his loan spell at Peterborough United, suggesting that the forward is likely to feature on Friday.

Darren Bent, meanwhile, is due to return to Aston Villa at the end of the month, but is expected to start on Boxing Day. The hosts will be without Bruno, however, after he was sent off against Wolves.

In many ways, Reading will look at Brighton's plight and see a number of similarities to their own season.

The Royals were also expected to push for a top six place and, while their struggles haven't quite been as bad as Brighton's, occupying 17th place at the halfway stage is not what they would have expected.

They also took the decision to change manager recently, but Steve Clarke could not make an immediate difference on Saturday as he fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of 10-man Watford in his first game in charge.

It is now just one win in six for Reading, with back-to-back defeats and only one goal in their last three outings.

Only three teams have picked up fewer points on the road this season, with Reading losing seven of their last nine away matches, including a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Birmingham City in their most recent one.

However, Clarke insisted that he saw improvements in his side during the defeat to Watford, so changes could be kept to a minimum from the former West Bromwich Albion boss.

Brighton:

Recent form: DDLLLD

Possible starting lineup: Stockdale; Calderon, Halford, Dunk, Bennett; Gardner, Holla, Forster-Caskey; Mackail-Smith, Bent, Teixeira

Reading:

Recent form: LLWDLL

Possible starting lineup: Federici; Gunter, Hector, Pearce, Obita; McCleary, Norwood, Williams, Blackman; Cox, Murray

Sports Mole says: 2-2