Aston Villa were able to move out of the relegation zone on the back of their thumping win over Norwich City before the international break. Next, they will host Brighton at Villa Park who sit right above them on the 14th spot. Both teams are coming in this game on the back of a win.
The Villans have never lost a home game against Brighton in any competition in 11 games. Brighton though have looked threatening, and they should be high on confidence after Potter’s men outplayed Tottenham in their last match to win 3-0. Both teams will look to build on from their impressive previous performance, and we can expect a fascinating encounter with two managers willing to play an attacking brand of football.
Team News: Experienced centre back James Chester could return in the matchday squad after his long term injury layoff. Striker Jonathan Kodjia is expected to miss out once again. Smith doesn’t have any injury issues apart from that.
Aston Villa Predicted Lineup Vs Brighton And Hove Albion
Formation (4-1-4-1)
Defence
Tom Heaton withdrew from the England squad, but it was just seen as a precautionary measure more than anything. He is expected to play and should start in goal. Smith will be glad that his chief centre half Tyrone Mings came out of the international break unscathed and he should begin in defence. Bjorn Engels is expected to partner him at the back.
Frederic Guilbert’s pace down the right can cause a lot of worry to the Brighton defence. He should start at right-back. Former Southampton fullback Matt Targett is expected to start over Neil Taylor at left-back.
Midfield
Marvelous Nakamba has seemingly become the first choice defensive midfielder over Douglas Luiz. Hence, we expect the Zimbabwean to start in the deepest role in the middle. John McGinn should be high on confidence after bagging the first-half hattrick with Scotland against San Marino. He should feature in midfield for Smith. The other spot is likely to go to Conor Hourihane.
Out wide on the left, Jack Grealish is expected to start. He will often look to drift inside in central areas instead of hugging the bylines. Anwar El Ghazi is likely to start on the right flank.
Attack
Wesley Moraes started his Villa career slow, but he is growing in confidence. After bagging a brace against Norwich last time, he will look to add more to his tally. He is undoubtedly going to lead the line.
