Brighton vs Aston Villa: Premier League today, Villa set for bounce back.
Watch Brighton vs Aston Villa live on Sky Sports’ Super Sunday this weekend from 1pm, kick-off at 2pm.
The Seagulls men’s team’s lone goal of the previous month came via a hilarious own goal by Burnley goalkeeper Aro Muric, which gave Brighton a late draw at Turf Moor. When seen in context, the scenario is humorous, but when examined further back, Roberto De Zerbi finds it worrisome. The objectives have dwindled. Brighton has only scored three goals in their last eight Premier League games, two of which were own goals. During that time, every other Premier League team had at least eight. The only player to score for Brighton in their previous 11 games in all competitions is Danny Welbeck.
This isn’t the De Zerbi Brighton that we know and love. They scored over two goals a game on average in the first half of the season. Two months ago, Brighton was competing in the Europa League knockout stages and only one point shy of the European spots. De Zerbi was even being touted as Jurgen Klopp’s possible replacement at Liverpool. The Seagulls currently occupy the bottom half of the Premier League standings; in fact, if it weren’t for Everton’s two sets of point deductions, the relegation-threatened team would have been tied with the Seagulls on points.
Brighton vs Aston Villa: Predictions
When Aston Villa visits the Amex Stadium to play Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday, they will be looking to recover from their Europa Conference League loss from midweek. On Thursday night, Villa’s chances of making it to their first European final in forty-two years were severely damaged when they lost 4-2 at home to Olympiacos in the first leg of their semi-final match.
Villa may be excused for putting their domestic play on the back burner in anticipation of the return match in Greece next week, but head coach Unai Emery has already stated that his team’s primary objective is to guarantee their spot in the top four.
Brighton vs Aston Villa: Injuries
Adam Lallana, the most recent of Brighton’s nine injured players, will miss the match on Sunday due to an undisclosed ailment. The England international is in the treatment room with Solly March (knee), Jan Paul van Hecke (muscular), James Milner (thigh), Evan Ferguson (foot), Pervis Estupinan (ankle), and Kaoru Mitoma (back).
Before the journey to the south coast, Emery has disclosed that Villa would evaluate a number of players who have not yet been announced. There are still questions around the availability of midfielder Youri Tielemans (groin) and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (thigh).
De Zerbi’s club has struggled with injuries for the whole of the season, and the Seagulls are among the teams most negatively impacted by player injuries this year. De Zerbi has altered his starting lineup 131 times this season as a result of this and his penchant for tweaking. The highest ever recorded change rate in Premier League history is 3.85 per game.
It has been a peculiar season with a debut European campaign, and stability has been hard to come by. Important players have missed extended stretches of time due to injury, such as Solly March, who has missed the most of the season. Evan Ferguson, Pervis Estupinan, and Jack Hinshelwood are also out for the final stretch.
The biggest loss, though, is Kaoru Mitoma, who played his final game of the season when Brighton was playing at their most prolific level. The Japanese winger’s season ended that week due to a back injury, but he was playing at his best during the Seagulls’ 5-0 victory over Sheffield United in February. However, the data demonstrates that Mitoma’s injury has not only resulted in a decline in goals scored, but also a complete collapse in quality.
The Brighton attack members who are still there have noticed Mitoma’s disappearance. Simon Adingra, an Ivorian winger, has taken over and is attempting to emulate his attacking output, although he hasn’t scored a goal since the end of February.
Stats
In six league games, Brighton has not won and has only gained two points; in contrast, Roberto De Zerbi’s team has only won three of its fifteen top-flight matches since the year’s beginning. Aston Villa has defeated Brighton in all five of their previous encounters, including the reverse fixture in September, where they won 6-1 at Villa Park. Ollie Watkins has six goals in his last four games versus Brighton, including a hat-trick in that match.
This season in the Premier League, the England international has contributed 31 goals (19 goals and 12 assists), more than any other player in the competition. In the 12 domestic games Villa has played following a match in the Europa Conference League this season, they have won seven and lost just two.
Stay tuned as we bring in updates of the match.
