Aston Villa look to record a sixth-consecutive victory on Wednesday evening, when returning to Premier League matters on the road at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Unai Emery's side closed out league affairs before the international break with a 1-0 win at Brentford, among triumphs in the Champions League over Club Brugge and in the FA Cup over Cardiff City.
The Villans now head to the south coast having booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals over the weekend with a 3-0 win at Preston North End, and sit just four points off the Premier League top four heading into the final nine games of the campaign.
Hosts Brighton currently sit two places and two points above the Villans in the standings, though bowed out of the FA Cup themselves at the quarter-final stage over the weekend, losing on penalties to Nottingham Forest.
The Seagulls have only lost two Premier League games at the Amex Stadium all season, and have won four and drawn one of their last five league outings, scoring 13 goals.
Stats
Ollie Watkins has scored 13 Premier League goals this season, with 11 of them either equalising (6) or giving Aston Villa the lead in a match (5). Only Mo Salah (14), Erling Haaland (14), and Alexander Isak (12) have more equalising and lead-taking goals combined in the competition in 2024/25.
Brighton’s João Pedro has more goal involvements against Aston Villa (4 – 1 goal, 3 assists) than any other opponent in the Premier League. The Brazilian has scored in both of his last two home league games (both penalties); the only players to score in 3+ successive home appearances in the Premier League for the Seagulls are Glenn Murray (twice in 2018), Pascal Groß (Aug 2018), Neal Maupay (Oct 2019), and Danny Welbeck (Oct 2024).
Aston Villa have won two of their last three league games (L1), as many as their previous nine beforehand (W2 D5 L2), while the Villans are looking to win back-to-back away games in the Premier League for the first time since winning their first two such outings of this season.
Brighton have won just one of their five Premier League home games against Aston Villa (D2 L2), though it did come in this exact fixture last season (1-0 in May).
After winning five consecutive Premier League games against Brighton between November 2021 and September 2023, Aston Villa are now winless in their last two against them (D1 L1).
Brighton have won each of their last three Premier League games at the Amex Stadium, and are looking to win four home matches in a row for the very first time in the top-flight.
Brighton have scored at least two goals in each of their last five Premier League games; never before in their top-flight history have they done so in six successive matches, last scoring twice in more league games in a row in any division in April 2016 in the Championship (7).
Aston Villa and Brighton have each both scored and conceded in 20 of their 29 Premier League games this season, with only Fulham’s games seeing both teams score more often in the division this campaign (21).
Excluding penalties, no side has scored more goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season than Aston Villa (13), although only Brentford (3) and Manchester City (5) have conceded fewer goals from set plays in the competition this term than Brighton (6).
Brighton duo Jan Paul van Hecke and Kaoru Mitoma have progressed the ball upfield with their carries the most of any players in the Premier League this season (4,256m for van Hecke, 3,235m for Mitoma).
The Last Meeting
The spoils were shared at Villa Park in the last meeting between these two sides, as Brighton held the hosts to a 2-2 draw in the final game of 2024.
Simon Adingra broke the deadlock for the Seagulls after 12 minutes, though Unai Emery's side spun the tie on its head with goals either side of half-time. Ollie Watkins struck from the penalty spot nine minutes before the break, before Morgan Rogers' fine strike edged the Villans in front two minutes after the restart.
But Brighton rallied and stole a point with nine minutes to go, as Tariq Lamptey fired home from just inside the area to ensure Fabian Hürzeler's side would not leave the midlands empty-handed.
Team News
Unai Emery admitted Leon Bailey would likely miss the trip to the Amex, the Jamaican winger still suffering from discomfort having taken a knock.
Emery revealed Ross Barkley trained with the group on Monday, as he nears his long-awaited return from injury, while Axel Disasi is back in contention, having been cup tied over the weekend.
Brighton have struggled with injury setbacks this season, and are likely to be without Georginio Rutter and Adam Webster, who both picked up knocks in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest.
The pair join Ferdi Kadioglu, Igor Julio, James Milner, Jason Steele, Joel Veltman and Tariq Lamptey on the sidelines, though Solly March and Mats Wieffer "could be an option" for Fabian Hürzeler.
Managers' Pre-Match Thoughts
“The last matches they played at home against Bournemouth, Fulham, away at Manchester City, Newcastle, they were playing fantastic. Our test is a huge test to show how we can face them and impose or dominate the match against one team in very good form.”
Unai Emery
“It's a duel that we know will be a big fight. They are a very mature and experienced team. We know that they want to go to Europe. They are still in three competitions and going for a title, so I think they have had a great season.”
Fabian Hürzeler
Visiting Fan Guide
Brighton v Aston Villa