Aston Villa team news: Lallana to miss out
Albion will look to bring a winless run of six Premier League games to an end when they take on Aston Villa on Sunday at the Amex, kick-off 2pm.
The game is being shown live on Sky Sports.
Team newsAt his pre-match press conference, head coach Roberto De Zerbi said, "We have nine injured players, the same as Bournemouth and also now Adam Lallana."
Looking ahead to Sunday, he added: "We have a very tough game but the strong motivation is to react, to play well and win. We are trying to give our best but sometimes it’s been difficult to show our quality. We wanted to fight to reach the Europa League again and compete in a different way in the last three months, but [not being able to do so] is part of football.
"We want to make our fans happy but sometimes you’re not able. The problems we’ve had are clear for everyone, but our attitude and behaviour have been the same. We have worked harder than last season so you can imagine how stronger we have worked.
My players are good people and they understand the moment is tough but we are still Brighton; we want to be able to win with the right attitude."
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Albion suffered their biggest league defeat of the campaign at Villa Park back in September, as Unai Emery’s team ran out 6-1 winners. The game also marked Jack Hinshelwood’s full Premier League debut.
Player to watchBy Paul Hazlewood
Ollie Watkins scored a hat-trick against Albion earlier this season.
Ollie Watkins is playing an integral role in Villa’s charge for Champions League football and European glory. The striker has 26 goals and 12 assists in all competitions and has been involved in five goals in his last four league games.
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1
Arsenal ARS
2
Man City MCI
3
Liverpool LIV
4
Aston Villa AVL
5
Spurs TOT
6
Man Utd MUN
7
Newcastle NEW
8
Chelsea CHE
9
West Ham WHU
10
Bournemouth BOU
11
Wolves WOL
12
Albion Albion
13
Everton EVE
14
Fulham FUL
15
Crystal Palace CRY
16
Brentford BRE
17
Nott'm Forest NFO
18
Luton LUT
19
Burnley BUR
20
Sheffield Utd SHU
*This table does not include points deductions for Nottingham Forest and Everton.
Albion have lost their last five Premier League matches against Aston Villa by an aggregate score of 14-3. The Seagulls last suffered six defeats in a row against a side between 2019 and 2022 against Manchester United.
Having won their last five against Brighton, Aston Villa are looking to register six consecutive Premier League wins against an opponent for the first time since between 2005 and 2010 against city rivals Birmingham.
Aston Villa won 6-1 in this season’s reverse Premier League fixture – they last netted more than six against an opponent in 2020-21 versus Liverpool (8), while their most goals against an opponent in a season is 10 against Wimbledon in 1994-95.
Albion have lost their last two Premier League games by an aggregate score of 7-0. The Seagulls last lost more in a row in the competition in March 2022 (run of 6 – the third of which was at home to Aston Villa), while they last conceded 3+ goals in three successive league matches in October 2011 as a Championship side.
Aston Villa have led by 2+ goals in each of their last four Premier League games, but have only gone on to win two of them, drawing 3-3 with Brentford and 2-2 with Chelsea last time out (2-0 v Arsenal, 3-1 v Bournemouth in the others).
Since Albion began their maiden European campaign in this season’s UEFA Europa League in September, they have won just seven of 29 Premier League matches (D11 L11). They would be 15th in a Premier League table in this time (since September 21st); they had started this season with four wins in their opening five league matches (L1) before their first Europa League match.
Aston Villa’s 73 Premier League goals this season is their most in a top-flight campaign since 1976-77 (76). Victory here would give them 70 points, their most in a 38-game top-flight season since 1989-90 (70).
Having scored in a joint league-high 39 different Premier League games in 2023, Albion have so far failed to find the net in more games than any other side in 2024 (8).
Ollie Watkins has scored six goals in his last four Premier League appearances against Albion, scoring a hat-trick in Aston Villa’s 6-1 win earlier this season. It’s the most goals he’s netted against an opponent in the competition.
Ollie Watkins has been involved in eight goals in his last five Premier League away games, scoring six and assisting two. His 10 Premier League away goals overall this season is the most of any English player in the competition.
Match officialsReferee: Robert Jones.
Assistants: Ian Hussin, Wade Smith.
Fourth official: Stuart Attwell.
VAR: Michael Oliver.
Assistant VAR: Dan Cook.
