Aston Villa face a in-form Brighton Hove Albion side on Saturday 13th February.
Recent Form:
AVFC - L-W-L-W-L-W
BHAFC - L-W-D-W-W-D
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A very good Brighton side, look to break down an Aston Villa defence that have caught recent headlines after their outstanding defensive display against Arsenal. They kept their 11th clean sheet of the season, along with the three points after Ollie Watkins struck early on with the only goal of the game.
Brighton are now unbeaten in their last 5 games, after a 1-1 draw against Burnley kept their form going. Graham Potters men, probably didn't deserve the point as Burnley dominated the game. A Lewis Dunk header, was the only goal in the game for the Seagulls.
The last time these two teams met, Brighton came out on top with all 3 points in a controversy-filled game. Trezeguet was 'fouled' in the box with the last kick of the game but Referee Michael Oliver denied the claims. Aston Villa boss Dean Smith said "I don't know what a penalty is now. We could all hear the contact inside the ground,". Brighton won the game 1-2, winning at Villa Park for the first ever time in their history.
Villa will look for revenge, and to do that they must be on the top of their game and not under-estimate Brighton.
TEAM NEWS
Dean Smith spoke to VillaTV to update everyone on the team news, here is what he had to say:
“Everyone came through the week fit from last week, so it’s an unchanged squad going into the game.
“Wesley’s had some manipulation on his knee, which has certainly helped and he’ll be back on the training ground next week.”
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Will it be a first start for new signing Morgan Sanson? After Ross Barkley's frustration against Arsenal, will Dean Smith want to change something up? But we all know he doesn't like to change the team up that much.
Predicted XI:
Score Predictions:
Dom Phillips - 2-0
Sam Walker- 2-0
Sam- 3-1
Kian Davies- 1-1
The AVFC Faithful - 2-0