English Premier League action returns on Saturday the 20th of November and we have an intriguing contest to look forward to between Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion.
The match will be played at Villa Park and the hosts begin the weekend in 16th place on 10 points while the visitors are in 7th place on 17 points.
Putting in the work!— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) November 15, 2021
Putting in the work!
Aston Villa decided to part ways with Dean Smith following the 1-0 defeat at Southampton prior to the international break and they moved quickly to announce Steven Gerrard as their new manager.
Gerrard did superbly at Glasgow Rangers and it will be interesting to see how the former Liverpool midfielder copes in the Premier League.
His first job will be to stop the run of defeats which is currently standing at 5 in the Premier League. In addition to the 1-0 loss at Southampton, Aston Villa have been defeated by arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur away from home plus Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at Villa Park.
Aston Villa have been entertaining to watch for the neutral in recent Premier League fixtures and they have seen both teams score plus over 2.5 goals in 4 of their last 5 Premier League matches.
Home form shows Aston Villa have little trouble scoring goals but they have kept only 2 clean sheets in 9 of their last 12 home league games and that is an area Gerrard will hope to make improvements.
Brighton make the trip to Villa Park on the back of a 1-1 draw at home against Newcastle United. It was a disappointing result for Graham Potter and his men who took the lead in the 24th minute but conceded an equaliser in the second half.
Goalkeeper Robert Sánchez was sent off in the 90th minute but it did not have an impact on the result.
The draw against Newcastle United means Brighton have failed to win any of their last 7 matches in all competitions and they have become a bit of a draw specialist in the Premier League.
Brighton are undefeated in 7 of their last 8 Premier League fixtures but have failed to win any of their 6 most recent games in the competition.
Brighton are undefeated in their 5 away Premier League games this season but gave drawn each of their last 3 on the road.
Looking ahead to the team news and Aston Villa have doubts over the fitness of Morgan Sanson, Danny Ings, Douglas Luiz, and Bertrand Traore. Marvelous Nakamba is out with a groin injury.
Brighton travel without suspended goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. Enoch Mwepu, Aaron Connolly, and Dan Burn are doubts while Danny Welbeck and Steven Alzate definitely miss out due to injury.
This will be an interesting game to watch as Gerrard takes control of Aston Villa for the first time. He has a difficult assignment against a Brighton team who are tough to beat when playing away from home.
We expect to see both teams find the back of the net in a match that could end level.