Aston Villa vs Brighton: Preview, Team News & Predicted Lineups | Premier League

Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion face off at Villa Park on Wednesday night, both teams seeking a return to winning form in the Premier League. The match presents an opportunity for Villa to solidify their position in the top four, while Brighton aim to halt a concerning slide down the league table.

Aston Villa’s recent form has been inconsistent, with only two wins in their last seven Premier League matches following an impressive eight-game winning streak. A 1-0 defeat at home to Brentford and a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth have tempered expectations of a title challenge, shifting the focus towards securing a top-five finish. Villa currently sit third, nine points behind league leaders Arsenal, and eight points ahead of Liverpool in sixth.

However, Unai Emery’s side face a challenging run of fixtures, with upcoming matches against Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea. A recent dip in form at Villa Park, having lost their last two Premier League home games to Brentford and Everton, adds to the pressure. Villa are looking to avoid becoming the first English top-flight team to lose three consecutive home matches after winning eight or more in a row. They have not lost three straight at home since November 2020, under Dean Smith.

Historically, Villa have enjoyed success against Brighton, winning seven of their last nine Premier League encounters. They will attempt to achieve the league double over the Seagulls for the third time, having previously done so in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

Brighton’s form has been even more erratic. A 1-1 draw with Everton was marred by a 97th-minute equaliser, and they subsequently suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, courtesy of Ismaila Sarr’s goal. The result prompted audible discontent from Brighton supporters, with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” directed at head coach Fabian Hurzeler, who acknowledged his team “have problems.”

Brighton’s recent record shows only one win in their last 12 Premier League matches – a 2-0 victory over Burnley in January. Since early December, they rank 18th in the league’s form table, accumulating just nine points. This downturn has seen them slip from fifth to 14th in the table, 12 points behind Chelsea in fifth and eight points behind Brentford in seventh.

Away from home, Brighton have struggled, failing to win any of their last five Premier League games. Their record at Villa Park is also poor, with only one win in six top-flight meetings, conceding at least twice in each of the five matches they failed to win.

Aston Villa will be without Youri Tielemans (ankle), John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara (both knee), and Andres Garcia (thigh). New signing Alysson (knee) also remains sidelined. Ollie Watkins has a strong scoring record against Brighton, with nine goals and 11 goal involvements, and will likely lead the attack. Morgan Rogers, who has been involved in four goals in his last five home matches, is expected to continue in an advanced central role. Ian Maatsen could replace Lucas Digne at left-back, and Pau Torres may return in defence.

For Brighton, Jan Paul van Hecke is expected to return to the squad after a minor thigh issue, but Stefanos Tzimas, Adam Webster, Solly March (all knee), Mats Wieffer (ankle/foot), and Yasin Ayari (shoulder) remain unavailable. James Milner is in contention to feature and, if he plays, will equal Gareth Barry’s Premier League appearance record of 653 games.

The possible starting lineups are: Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Onana, Luiz; Sancho, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins. Brighton & Hove Albion: Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Dunk, Boscagli, De Cuyper; Gomez, Baleba, Gross; Minteh, Welbeck, Mitoma.