Aston Villa welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Villa Park for a key mid table Premier League clash.
Victory for either team could send them into the top ten, although Villa will leapfrog their rivals if they take all three points.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesTom Heaton is set to be in goal for Aston Villa after withdrawing from international duty with a knock picked up in training for England.
James Chester (hamstring), Jonathan Kodjia (cheekbone) and Bjorn Engels (knee) are also available, although Jota is ruled out until mid November after needing hernia surgery.
Brighton could have Leandro Trossard available after sitting out recent matches with a groin injury.
Davvy Propper (hamstring) and Steven Alzate (back) are also set to be available, although Jose Izquierdo and Bernardo are still absent after recent knee injuries.
Form
Aston Villa ended a four match winless league run last time out after running riot at Norwich, whilst they have taken five points from their four home league games so far this season.
Brighton ended a six match winless league run since the opening day after thumping Tottenham at home, although they have taken just four points from four away games.
Stat Attack
- Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last eight meetings with Brighton in all competitions (W5, D3).
- Both teams have scored in their last four meetings, although both league meetings in that time finished in 1-1 draws.
- Brighton are winless in 11 previous trips to Villa Park in all competitions (W8, D3).
- No Aston Villa player has made a last man tackle so far this season.
- Neither team has scored from the penalty spot so far this season.
Prediction
Both teams earned impressive wins last time out with brilliant clinical finishing, which makes this a more difficult game to predict than if it had been played a few weeks ago.
I therefore am expecting a tight game here and the respective home/away form of both teams doesn’t suggest an obvious winner, so I do feel that defence could well be a crucial factor but both teams have players who are better in certain defensive areas than the other team.
A draw therefore is surely a good bet here because there isn’t much to really split these two teams coming into this weekend.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Result: Aston Villa 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion