England Premier League
Saturday 26th February 2022
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: Amex Stadium
Match Preview:
Brighton were just about to try and challenge for European football this season and then lost 2 games in a row and while their hopes are not over their latest form has left a dent in them.
First came the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United which never seems like a terrible result to happen but at the same time this isn’t the strongest United side and they have had their own problems. Plus despite the score being 2-0 in United’s favour the press were full of praise for Brighton who had played well. Then came the 3-0 home loss against Burnley and this one would have hurt given that Burnley are in the bottom three. They showed passion, desire and fight and they might be worrying Graham Potter. All in all though it’s hard to deny Brighton haven’t been good this season.
The Seagulls come into this weekend in 9th place and are six points from a European one but they have only collected 5 points from their last 15.
Aston Villa keep slipping and sliding and it is only one victory in their last five games now. The problem the club has is that their European hopes are over but the players must wake up because they could be involved in a relegation fight if results do not quickly improve. Villa are in 13th place and currently seven points from the drop, they should be fine but in football things can change quickly.
Villa’s last game finished in a surprise 1-0 defeat at home to 19th placed Watford and that followed a defeat against Newcastle so the club are certainly not in form ahead of this game.
Team News:
Brighton: Enock Mwepu is out for another week at least with his hamstring. Adam Webster has a groin injury and isn’t expected back until next month.
Aston Villa: Marvelous Nakamba has a knee injury that is expected to keep him out for the next month. Bertrand Traore has a hamstring injury with no fixed date of a return to football in an injury ravaged season for the player.
Brighton vs Aston Villa Head to Head:
Last season this fixture finished 0-0.
Earlier in the season Aston Villa won 2-0 in the reverse fixture.
Since 1981 Aston Villa have only won once at Brighton but that was relatively a short time ago back in 2019.
There is a 60% chance to see under 2.5 goals.
Brighton vs Aston Villa Prediction:
This is a game that will be closely fought and you suspect that while Aston Villa would like to taste victory again that out of the two sides they would be happy to walk away with a point here and end their losing run.
Any magic that Steven Gerrard brought to Aston Villa upon his arrival seems to have eroded but at the same time the former Liverpool great is doing his job for now and keeping the club safe though one could argue wouldn’t Dean Smith had done the same type of performances?
Brighton have been suffering lately and the worry is some players may have lost heart or are simply fatigued. Lose this and you wonder what the season has left for Brighton in the league? So this is a game where the home fans will be expecting Potter’s side to bounce back. There has been a pattern of draws in these fixtures when Brighton are at home and we expect a very close and physical game. Therefore we will back the draw in this encounter.
Brighton vs Aston Villa Betting Tips:
Full time result (Draw) at 3.30
A player to be sent off in the match at 5.00
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