Aston Villa vs Brighton & Hove Albion preview, team news and prediction

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Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion will both be eager to get back to winning ways when they face off at Villa Park on Wednesday night in the Premier League . The reverse fixture just over two months ago produced a thrilling seven-goal contest, with Villa edging out Brighton 4-3 at the Amex Stadium.

After an impressive eight-game winning streak in the Premier League late last year, Aston Villa have managed just two victories in their last seven top-flight outings (three draws, three defeats), dropping points in both of their opening February fixtures against Brentford and Bournemouth. Unai Emery’s side suffered a narrow 1-0 loss at home to Brentford before being held to a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth last weekend. Those results have all but ended Villa’s faint title hopes, shifting their focus to securing a top-five finish for the remainder of the campaign.

Currently third in the table and nine points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, Villa hold an eight-point cushion over sixth-placed Liverpool. However, they cannot afford to be complacent, with challenging fixtures against Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea still to come before the season concludes. Emery’s men have also lost their last two home league matches to Brentford and Everton, and now aim to avoid becoming the first English top-flight side ever to lose three consecutive home games after winning eight or more in a row—something Villa have not done since November 2020 under Dean Smith.

On a positive note, Villa have won seven of their last nine Premier League meetings with Brighton and are looking to complete the double over the Seagulls for the third time, having achieved the feat in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

Brighton, meanwhile, were denied victory by a 97th-minute equalizer in a 1-1 home draw with Everton before suffering their eighth league defeat of the season last weekend, falling 1-0 to rivals Crystal Palace thanks to Ismaila Sarr’s 61st-minute goal. Discontent among Seagulls fans was evident, with some chanting for head coach Fabian Hurzeler’s dismissal at full time.

The Seagulls’ league form has nosedived, with just one win in their last 12 matches (six draws, five losses)—a 2-0 victory over Burnley on January 3. Since the start of December, Brighton have collected only nine points, ranking 18th in the Premier League form table during that period. This slump has seen them drop from fifth to 14th place, now 12 points behind fifth-placed Chelsea and eight behind seventh-placed Brentford, leaving them needing a strong finish to mount a late push for European qualification.

Wednesday’s trip to Villa Park presents another challenge, as Brighton are winless in their last five Premier League away games and have only managed one win in six top-flight visits to Aston Villa , conceding at least twice in each of the five matches they failed to win.

No surprises from the bookies on this one as the Champions League-chasing Villans are comfortably the odds-on favourite against a withering Brighton side. William Hill is pricing Emery's side at 10/11 favourites to secure all three points as they look to continue their fine form against the Seagulls at Villa Park while the visitors are a distant 27/10 to get only their second win in 13 matches.

Aston Villa will be without Youri Tielemans (ankle), John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara (both knee), and Andres Garcia (thigh) due to injury, while new signing Alysson (knee) is also expected to miss out despite having returned to training last week.

Ollie Watkins, who has scored more goals (nine) and contributed to more goals (11) against Brighton than any other Premier League side, will be eager to retain his place up front ahead of January arrival Tammy Abraham. Morgan Rogers, meanwhile, has been directly involved in four goals in his last five home appearances in all competitions (three goals, one assist) and is likely to continue in an advanced central role.

After a difficult outing against Bournemouth, Lucas Digne may make way for Ian Maatsen at left-back. Pau Torres could also return to the defense in place of Tyrone Mings, while Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash are expected to keep their spots in the back four.

For Brighton, Jan Paul van Hecke—who scored twice in the Seagulls’ 4-3 loss to Villa two months ago—is sidelined with a thigh injury. He joins Stefanos Tzimas, Adam Webster, Solly March (all knee), Mats Wieffer (ankle/foot), and Yasin Ayari (shoulder) on the injury list.

Olivier Boscagli is set to partner captain Lewis Dunk at center-back, while manager Fabian Hürzeler must decide whether to continue with 17-year-old midfielder Harry Howell, who was handed a surprise full Premier League debut last time out, or recall Jack Hinshelwood, Diego Gomez, or Matt O’Reilly.

James Milner is also in contention to feature, and if the 40-year-old midfielder plays against his former club Villa, he will equal Gareth Barry’s all-time Premier League appearance record of 653 games.

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