Brighton vs. Aston Villa
Venue: Amex Stadium
Kick off: 8PM
Aston Villa will be looking to continue their push towards the European positions in the Premier League table when they travel to the Amex this afternoon to take on Brighton & Hove Albion.
The visitors are currently ninth in the division, four points behind sixth-placed West Ham United with two games in hand over the Hammers, while Brighton’s recent form has allowed them to move away from danger and into 15th position, now 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
Brighton saw their FA Cup journey for the 2020-21 campaign come to an end on Wednesday evening as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Leicester City, with Kelechi Iheanacho scoring the winner in the 94th minute of the contest at the King Power Stadium.
Graham Potter’s side have been on an excellent run in the Premier League, though, winning three of their last five and remaining unbeaten in the process to move clear of the relegation zone.
The Seagulls are currently 15th in the table, 10 points clear of 18th-placed Fulham, and it is difficult to imagine them being pulled into trouble once again, particularly considering their performances in recent weeks.
Brighton were held to a 1-1 draw at Burnley last weekend but have beaten Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in three of their last five top-flight fixtures and will therefore enter today’s clash full of confidence despite Villa’s quality.
Potter’s team have been better on their travels this season, though, with 16 of their 25 points coming away from the Amex, while they have won just one Premier League game on home soil in 2020-21.
Villa, meanwhile, were not in FA Cup action during the week, meaning that their last match was last weekend’s 1-0 win over Arsenal, where Ollie Watkins scored the only goal of the contest early on.
Dean Smith’s side have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, losing three and winning three of their last six league matches, but a brilliant campaign to date has seen them collect 35 points from 21 matches to occupy ninth position in the table.
Villa also have two games in hand over the likes of West Ham, Chelsea and Liverpool, placing them in a strong position to potentially claim European football; the gap to fourth-placed Liverpool is actually only five points with two games in hand, which is an indication of how impressive they have been this term.
Only Manchester City (15), Manchester United (13) and Leicester (13) have won more Premier League games than Smith’s team (11) this term, and they have been strong on their travels, picking up 19 points from 11 matches.
There have only actually been three previous Premier League meetings between these two sides, and Brighton recorded a 2-1 victory when the pair locked horns at Villa Park back in November.
Brighton possible XI: Sanchez, White, Dunk, Webster, Veltman, Gross, Bissouma, Burn, Mac Allister, Maupay, Trossard.
Aston Villa possible XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Luiz, McGinn, Traore, Barkley, Grealish, Watkins.
