Aston Villa will entertain Brighton and Hove Albion at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon as they look to pick up a win in Steven Gerrard’s first match in charge of the club. The Villans suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton prior to the international break. Hence, we can expect them to be hungry for the three points this weekend.
Gerrard will probably opt for a 4-3-3 formation and could give Ezri Konsa a start while Axel Tuanzebe makes away for him and drops to the bench. In midfield, Jacob Ramsey is expected to return but Marvelous Nakamba is unlikely to recover in time for this game.
4-3-3 Aston Villa Predicted Lineup To Face Brighton
Defence
Emiliano Martinez will function in goal for the West Midlands side after he failed to keep a clean sheet in his last league outing. Ezri Konsa will get a start alongside Tyrone Mings at the centre of the Villans defence as they try to keep the Brighton attackers at bay during the 90 minutes.
Matty Cash will be a nailed-on starter at right-back while Matt Targett looks to impress on the other flank as the left-back. Gerrard will give both of them the license to express themselves in the opposition half so that they can offer enough support to the front players.
Axel Tuanzebe might have to be content with a place on the bench but could come on to influence the game in the latter stages if needed.
Midfield
Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn are expected to anchor the midfield for Aston Villa while Emiliano Buendia fills in as a makeshift box-to-box midfielder because Marvelous Nakamba will probably miss out due to a groin injury.
Buendia will have to act as the main playmaker in the Seagulls half. His main job would be to orchestrate some meaningful openings for his teammates in the final third.
Attack
Anwar El Ghazi will get the nod to start as the left-sided wide player while Leon Bailey hopes to give a good account of himself from the right. Ollie Watkins will spearhead Aston Villa’s attack down the middle. The English forward needs a goal to boost his confidence, so he will be eager to find the back of the net when he laces up to face off against the Brighton defenders this weekend.