BRIGHTON and Hove Albion will welcome Manchester City to the Amex for their historic first match in the Premier League.

Chris Hughton and the Seagulls will face Pep Guardiola’s multi-million pound superstars on August 12.

The fixtures for the 2017/18 season, Albion’s first in the Premier League, were released yesterday with a special breakfast event held at the Amex.

Former Albion manager Alan Mullery and ex central defender Andy Rollings were special guests as hundreds of fans gathered for the much anticipated release.

Following the opening day clash, the Seagulls will be on the road for two weeks: away at Leicester City and then Watford.

The second match at the Amex will be against West Bromwich Albion on September 9.

Albion face a tough run at the business end of the season with Tottenham Hotspur at the Amex on April 21, Manchester United on May 5 and the Seagulls visiting Anfield on the last day of the season on May 13.

There was a cheer at the Amex yesterday morning as Manchester City were revealed as the first opponents.

Supporter Angela Rigelsford, from Seaford, said it would be an exciting start.

She said: “What an atmosphere that will be.

“Fans and players will have to be as one and bring each other forward.

“We’ve got a tough March, and some exciting games in April and to finish the season off.”

Michael Rigelsford added: “We will be going up against one of the greatest managers in the game in Pep Guardiola.

“Look at what he has done at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

“They are probably favourites for the title.

“But then we’ve got Leicester, Watford and Bournemouth. They are huge games too because hopefully they are games we can win.”

Other notable dates for Albion fans include January 20 when Premier League champions Chelsea will be in town.

Fans can expect to see the likes of N’Golo Kante, Eden Hazard and Gary Cahill take on the Seagulls in their defence of the title.

Liverpool stars Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané will grace The Amex on December 2 with Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal travelling south on March 3.

Dave Rowland, 61, from Steyning, said: “It’s a cracking start to the season and then it doesn’t look too bad for the following month with some winable fixtures there.

“It’s all exciting stuff. I don’t normally come to fixtures events like this.

“I’ve never needed to know exactly when we were playing Rotherham away or games like that. But this is special.”

Graham Slaughter, from Hassocks, added: “I wanted a big one to start with, so Man City will do

“Arsenal would have been good as a repeat of when we went up last time.

“I’m excited. I think we will be in the bottom half but we will be safe.

“The squad have got a good team togetherness.”

All fixtures are subject to change because of TV coverage and opponents playing European matches.