Aston Villa will host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League after both teams were knocked out of the EFL Cup. The Seagulls lost to Chelsea by a slim margin of 1-0 on the same day that the Lions were defeated 2-1 at home by Everton.
Preview (Aston Villa vs. Brighton & Hove Albion)
Aston Villa have had an erratic recent run of play, winning and losing each of their past six games across all competitions while juggling domestic and European obligations. They lost 3-2 to Legia Warsaw in their first Europa Conference League group-stage match. Unai Emery’s team quickly moved on by defeating Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League last weekend. Seven minutes from time, Boubacar Kamara’s first goal for Villa was ineffective. Everton had already qualified for the playoffs thanks to goals from James Garner and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Villa won three straight matches by an aggregate score of 10-1. Their loss to the Toffees halted their perfect start to the new season at home. In fact, Villa has won all four of their recent league encounters with Brighton. The last was a 2-1 home victory on the final day of the previous campaign. This is their best winning streak in front of their own supporters since a run of 13 straight victories. With a 3-1 comeback win over Bournemouth in the Premier League last weekend sandwiched between a Europa League loss to AEK Athens and the midweek loss to Chelsea in the EFL Cup, Brighton has had the same three-game winning-losing streak as Aston Villa.
The Seagulls had more than 60% of the ball at Stamford Bridge, but they lacked finesse in the final third. They had only two of their 13 efforts on goal. Nicolas Jackson’s goal in the 50th minute broke the tie. Brighton has established itself in the Premier League this season, winning five of their first six games. They have scored a league-high 18 goals in the process. Brighton is currently third in the table and three points ahead of sixth-place Aston Villa. They are attempting to win six of its first seven league games for the first time since the 2015–16 season. Brighton has already defeated Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home.
Team News
Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey will join Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia (both knee), and Tim Iroegbunam (unspecified) on the injured list after missing the midweek loss to Everton with a “small injury” and Leon Bailey being forced off due to a thigh strain. Alex Moreno is getting closer to returning from a hamstring injury. Saturday’s game will likely come too soon for the Spaniard. However, Ansu Fati, Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March, Joao Pedro, and Danny Welbeck, should start on Saturday.
Tariq Lamptey will try to hold off Joel Veltman for a starting spot at right back. On Saturday, a hotly contested matchup between two well-matched teams may be in store as one of the Premier League’s hot teams, Brighton, prepares to test their mettle against an Aston Villa squad with a great home record in the top division. Both sides may anticipate having many of opportunities in the final third, but with not much between these two teams, this weekend’s game may conclude in an interesting stalemate.
Aston Villa 2 – 2 Brighton & Hove Albion
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