The rousing victory over Crystal Palace was about much more than three months of bragging rights.

It was also the biggest indicator yet of Albion's evolving Premier League squad.

One that will endure far beyond the return meeting at Selhurst Park in March.

The back four that defended so well for more than an hour with ten men did not contain Bruno, Shane Duffy or Gaetan Bong.

Three of the mainstays over the past two-and-a-half seasons who all played in the hat-trick of clean sheet wins against West Ham, Newcastle and Wolves in October.

It will probably be the same story at Burnley tomorrow, Martin Montoya (green shirt, below) for Bruno, Leon Balogun for the suspended Duffy, Bernardo still holding off Bong.

The Argus: The progression goes deeper. Albion have taken seven points from the last three matches without Dale Stephens in midfield.

He is available again after a ban at Turf Moor against the club that once upon a time relentlessly pursued his signature.

It is unlikely that Stephens will be straight back in at the expense of Yves Bissouma, or that Beram Kayal (below) will regain his spot from the young Mali international.

The Argus: Out wide, Anthony Knockaert has not started any of Albion's last four victories.

Even in the case of top scoring talisman Glenn Murray, the Seagulls were still able to profit against ten men after his shoulder injury exit, having done so from the start at Huddersfield.

Bruno, Duffy, Bong, Stephens, Kayal, Knockaert, Murray.

Names that have rolled off the tongue, figures instrumental in the rise from the Championship and Premier League survival.

They will continue to be, all still vital in the bigger picture.

But it no longer feels that Albion are vulnerable without them.

The influential Duffy-Lewis Dunk partnership at the heart of the defence has been broken up for the longest period of time by the Irishman's red card against Palace.

Balogun is needed at Burnley, against Chelsea at the Amex eight days later and at Bournemouth before Christmas.

Earlier in the season, the Nigerian international slotted in seamlessly in the 3-2 win over Manchester United and Albion's best away display in narrow defeat at Liverpool after Dunk suffered an ankle injury early on against the former.

Bernardo, jettisoned after a poor debut in the opening day defeat at Watford, has watched and learned from the sidelines.

The young Brazilian has produced three strong displays since coming back in for Bong.

Montoya helped Albion cope well with the threat from Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend against Palace.

Montoya's return had nothing to do with Bruno (below) going off injured at Huddersfield. Chris Hughton indicated the decision had been influenced by three matches in a week and the type of players Palace have.

The Argus: Hughton is now trusting Bissouma in a two-man midfield, not three.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh's impending return from hamstring trouble will make it even tougher for Knockaert to command a starting role.

Florin Andone, on target against Huddersfield when starting and from the bench for Murray against Palace, has demonstrated the different type of attributes he can bring to the team.

His goal against Palace, chasing Bernardo's clearance out of defence, outpacing and then unsettling James Tomkins into a mistake, is a taster of his capacity to single-handedly stretch the opposition.

This will be particularly useful away from home. Murray, often deprived of the kind of service he thrives on when Albion are on their travels and out of possession for longer periods, has scored 34 of the 45 goals in his last 100 appearances at the Amex.

Jason Steele or David Button, the goalkeepers signed in the summer, will have an important part to play as well in January when Mathew Ryan is on Asia Cup duty with Australia.

The Argus: Steele (above), regularly on the bench for recent matches, seems to have edged ahead in this respect since Button suffered a training injury.

The hardest player of all to replace is Pascal Gross, although assist-laden Solly March was just starting to grow into the No.10 role when the German returned from his lengthy injury absence.

Even without Gross, Albion managed to take ten points from eight games. And they beat Palace in the portion of the match he took no part in 2-1 with ten men, as he became the unfortunate victim of the reshuffle prompted by Duffy's dismissal.

That inadvertently paved the way for Balogun's instantaneous goal scoring impact.

The second Premier League wave of summer signings by Albion has built on what they already had, created a deeper squad from which two elevens comparable in quality could be chosen.

That will serve them well as they end one hectic burst at Burnley before beginning another, Chelsea's visit launching five matches in 18 days.