Match preview: Can Brighton end awful record at Villa Park?

December 30, 2024December 30, 2024 Andrew James 0 Comments

The final game of 2024 is here and it sees Brighton travel to the West Midlands to face off against Aston Villa.

Villa Park is considered one of the toughest away days not just in the Premier League but the whole of England. It always offers a loud, passionate atmosphere from the home crowd and the Albion have won there just once in their entire history.

Why not save the toughest fixture for the last match of the calendar year?

Albion fire blanks against Brentford

The Seagulls were last in action only 72 hours ago when drawing 0-0 at home with Brentford. The Seagulls completelet dominated the game and could have and most certainly should have been out of sight in the first half alone.

Julio Enciso played like a man possessed and was unlucky not to have a couple of goals to his name. The young Paraguayan hit the crossbar early on and then had a header saved at point blank range by Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

But even with all that domination, one may argue that Brighton were actually very lucky not to have lost to Brentford.

Yoan Wissa had the ball in the back of the net in the 15th minute. A wonderful pass over the top saw the Frenchman smash it past a helpless Bart Verbruggen in the Albion net.

After a two minute VAR review, it was ruled out to the delight of everyone in the Amex bar the away end. The game continued in the same vein in the second half.

Brighton missed a lorry load of chances and with Brentford only having the odd good spell, the Albion back line was not caused any real issues.

The best moment of the match came in the 87th minute when Solly March returned to the field after spending over 14 months on the sidelines recovering from a horrific ACL injury sustained last October against Manchester City.

Albion fans were were quickly up on their feet welcoming back one of our own with the reception afforded to March an emotional one.

At full time, boos rang throughout the stadium. Brighton supporters left feeling disappointment once again, whilst Fabian Hurzeler asked us to trust the process…

The Villa fall on Tyneside…

Villa were last in action on Boxing Day, making the journey to the north east to take on fellow Premier League heavyweight Newcastle United.

Looking to keep their momentum going after beating Manchester City just days earlier, Unai Emery’s men knew three points would keep the pressure on the teams above them as they seek another top four finish.

However, it was the Magpies who piled on the pressure. It took Newcastle just two minutes to open the scoring thanks to midfielder Anthony Gordon.

After such an early breakthrough for the hosts, Villa struggled to really get going and looked a little shell shocked in the minutes after.

Things quickly went from bad to worse when in-form man Jhon Duran was shown a straight red card for a ridiculous challenge on Fabian Schar. There was no VAR check needed for this one (good news for us!)

Already a goal down and now a man down, it continued to get worse for Villa as the Toon put away a second and a third courtesy of Alexander Isak & Joelinton.

Boxing Day certainly lived up to its name with Newcastle producing a real knockout to Unai Emery’s men (sorry it had to be said).

The 3-0 victory saw Eddie Howe’s men leapfrog Villa in the table. Villa now sit just above the Albion heading into Monday night’s game.

Aston Villa v Brighton head-to-head

There have been 33 meetings between Brighton and Aston Villa. It is Villa who have by far the better record, winning 18. Brighton have six victories to their name, leaving nine draws.

Only of those successes for the Seagulls has come at Villa Park. And there were no supporters there to witness it. Danny Welbeck and March scored in a 2-1 win during the 2020-21 lockdown season.

Aston Villa v Brighton team news

The good news for Brighton boss Hurzeler is that there are no new names to add to the absentee list after Friday night’s game against Brentford.

Welbeck remains out having missed the last three games. He is still suffering from an ankle problem. Adam Webster is close to a return but Monday night may be too soon.

Jack Hinshelwood and Ferdi Kadioglu are both also close to re-joining the group, maybe as soon as this weekend when Arsenal visit the Amex on Saturday evening.

Matts Weiffer was forced off last week against West Ham and was not available against Brentford. Hurzeler though thinks there is a chance his return could be on the cards for the trip to the Midlands, even if it is from the bench.

James Milner is still not ready just yet. No date has been set for his long awaited return. We could though see more of March following his late cameo on Friday night.

For Aston Villa, Emery has a few absentees of his own to contend with. Left back Matty Cash will be serving a suspension after accumulating five yellow cards.

Duran is also banned following his straight red against Newcastle. Villa did try and appeal the decision but there was zero chance of it being overturned.

Midfielder Jacob Ramsay is continuing his recovery after picking up a hamstring injury earlier in the season, and will watch this one from the sidelines.

Finally, defender Kourtney Hause is unavailable after undergoing knee surgery. His return is expected later this season.

Aston Villa players to watch out for

Villa possess a wealth of talent within their ranks, as evidenced by their fourth place finish last season. They have also impressed in the Champions League so far, including a memorable 1-0 win over Bayern Munich.

Ollie Watkins

Under the stewardship of Emery, Watkins has been one of the best and most consistent strikers in the Premier League. His hard work and outstanding performances earned him a seat on the plane to the Euros last summer, where he scored England’s late winner in the semi final past Verbruggen.

Watkins has found starts a little harder to come in 2024-25 compared to previous seasons. This is because of a combination of Duran bursting onto the scene and Emery rotating more to cope with Champions League football.

Nevertheless, he still has seven league goals to his name and has chipped in with three assists. Watkins is certain to lead the line against Brighton with Duran suspended.

He is fast, direct and strong – the sort of forward the Albion defence have struggled against this season. Watkins also has six goals in his past six appearances against Brighton.

Morgan Rogers

A product of Manchester City’s academy, the 22-year-old joined Villa in the January transfer window from Middlesbrough. He cost £8 million which could double to £16 million if certain conditions are met.

Rogers was brought in to replace Moussa Diaby, who left for Saudi Arabia. Since his arrival, he has slotted into Emery’s starting XI effortlessly.

He operates primarily as an attacking midfielder but has also played on the left wing a number of times this season. In all competitions, Rogers has bagged himself five goals and has provided four assists for his fellow teammates. A clear danger-man.

Final thoughts

Having put in such a dismal display against Brentford to go six games without a win, Villa is absolutely the kind of game the Albion can end up winning. It would be such a Typical Brighton thing to happen.

I am of course saying that with hopefulness more than anything. As already mentioned, Villa Park is a notoriously difficult venue to get a result at. Emery will also want to bounce back quickly after that poor result at Newcastle on Boxing Day.

And despite calling Friday night dismal two paragraphs ago, Brighton did in fairness do 9/10 things right. The only missing, important piece being putting the ball in the back of the net.

If the Albion can apply the same pressure and play with a similar level of intensity as they did during the opening 20 minutes against Brentford, Villa will certainly not have things all their own way.

Where Brighton do need to improve is defensively. Watkins has caused so many problems for the Albion in the past and he spearheads a strong Villa attack.

I think Carlos Baleba will be key for Brighton in this game. Sitting in the heart of midfield, he could be the difference if he is able to disrupt Villa by winning possession and then getting the Albion on the front foot.