Albion have been warned that Aston Villa pose the biggest threat to their Premier League dream.

The Seagulls are 13 points ahead of Villa in the Championship table following their 1-1 draw at the Amex on Friday night.

Chris Hughton’s men are five points behind leaders Newcastle in second place following their 2-0 win at Leeds yesterday but have a four point cushion to Reading in third.

Villa are down in 16th spot but the draw against Albion extended their unbeaten run to six matches since the appointment of Steve Bruce as manager last month.

Former Villa boss John Gregory felt Bruce’s men were unfortunate not to take all three points away from the Amex and is convinced they will be pushing Albion for a top-two finish come May.

Gregory, who made 72 league appearances for Albion after joining them from Villa in 1979 following the Seagulls’ promotion to the old First Division, said: “Villa should have won on Friday as they were in control in the second half.

“Steve Bruce has been brilliant since taking over. He is experienced in the Championship in the same way Chris Hughton is.

“Both managers know what it takes to get out of this division so I can see them both being right up there at the end of the season.

“I think Newcastle will win the title as they have got the spending power and I’m sure in January (Rafa) Benitez will go out and get one or two new players to make sure they go up automatically.

“Brighton have a great chance of grabbing that second automatic spot, although I have a sneaky feeling that Villa will get in there. With Steve in charge I have no doubt they will be pushing, especially if they continue the run they are on.

“When you look at the table no one else really stands out. Norwich can blow hot and cold so I think they will have to settle for the play-offs and there are no other major threats. Derby are a big club but Steve McLaren has a lot of work to do there to make them challengers.

“Everything at Brighton is geared up to get into the Premier League and they certainly wouldn’t disgrace the top flight if they got there. They have got everything going for them but every year it gets increasingly difficult to get out of the Championship and games like Friday night show how tough it is.”

Albion missed out on automatic promotion to Middlesbrough on goal difference last season and have lost in the play-offs three times in the last four years.

Gregory believes the key to going one step further this year will be holding on to star performers like Anthony Knockaert during the January transfer window while identifying the “right type” of players who can strengthen the squad.

He added: “What happens in January will be crucial. If Chris Hughton is able to bring in a couple of players who fit into the framework of the team then there is no reason why they can’t challenge for automatic promotion.

“But it is important they are the right type of players as you can see that the squad at Brighton is very tight knit and you don’t want to disrupt that. I thought it was amazing the way the players and staff rallied around after Anthony Knockaert’s father died and I think it is that togetherness which is their main asset.”