Brighton & Hove Albion meet Aston Villa at the AMEX Stadium in a blockbuster Premier League showdown.
Victory could see Brighton climb to fourth if Manchester City and Newcastle both slip up elsewhere, whilst Villa can go as high as sixth with a win if results elsewhere swing their way.
Team News
Brighton will be without Georginio Rutter and Adam Webster after the pair suffered respective ankle and hamstring injuries during their FA Cup Quarter-Final exit against Nottingham Forest.
Mats Wieffer (muscle) and Solly March (knock) could both return.
Jason Steele (shoulder), Joel Veltman (foot), Tariq Lamptey (ankle), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), Igor Julio and James Milner (both hamstring) remain sidelined.
Villa have no fresh injury concerns to report following their 3-0 FA Cup Quarter-Final victory at Preston, with only Ross Barkley absent due to a knee injury.
When is Kick-Off?
Brighton meet Villa at AMEX Stadium on Wednesday 2 April at 7:45pm BST, untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Brighton have won one of their last eight meetings against Villa (W1, D2, L5).
- Villa have lost one of their last five league trips to Brighton (W2, D2, L1).
- Aston Villa are yet to receive a red card against Brighton in this Premier League fixture after 11 previous meetings.
- Joao Pedro has scored from the penalty spot in each of Brighton’s last two home games (W2), which both ended in 2-1 wins for the Seagulls over Bournemouth and Fulham respectively.
- Villa have claimed seven points away from home in the top-flight in 2025 (W2, D1, L2), with both wins having come via 1-0 results at Everton and Brentford respectively.
Prediction
Having had three whole days of recovery following their scrappy goalless draw and eventual FA Cup loss to Forest, Brighton should be fired up for this game if can continue their unbeaten form (penalties aside) but this fixture has been their Achilles heel although they can’t afford to slip up in their top-four push.
Villa meanwhile can’t really afford to slip up themselves but they must be much sharper than they were at Preston for much of the opening hour, yet they crucially found their higher gears to deliver a clinical but controlled win although 19 hours less rest time could pose a slight challenge as the match wears on.
Nevertheless I am expecting a cracking battle because both teams need a win to boost their top-four prospects but I have a feeling that Brighton’s extra turn-around fitness time could be the difference.
Prediction: Brighton 2-1 Aston Villa
Result: Brighton 0-3 Aston Villa
Leave a Reply