22 hours Ago
Albion aim to continue their push for Europe as they face Aston Villa. The sides meet at 7.45pm tonight in the Premier League.
These are the facts, the numbers and the latest updates which matter - and TV pundit Adam Virgo gives us his expert insight. Selection news PA report Ross Barkley could return to Villa's s quad at the Amex after missing the last 16 matches due to knee ligament damage sustained in January. On-loan Chelsea defender Axel Disasi is available again after he was cup-tied at Preston, while Leon Bailey is not expected to recover from the knock he picked up on international duty with Jamaica and which ruled him out on Sunday.
Albion have added Georginio Rutter and Adam Webster to their inury list. Current form While Albion are out to "bounce back" from a penalty shoot-out disappointment, it should not be forgotten they are unbeaten in eight (including six wins) over 90 or 120 minutes. Villa are on a run of FIVE successive wins across three competitions, although only one of them was in the Prem - a 1-0 success at Brentford.
Head-to-head Albion have won just two of 19 meetings since a 1-0 success. in 1980-81, when Michael Robinson scored the only goal at the Goldstone, or one of the last eight. But they are unbeaten in the last two meetings and beat Villa at the Amex a year ago.
(Image: Argus) Classic battle Back in the closing weeks of the 1971-72 season, Albion beat third division leaders Villa 2-1 at the Goldstone with Willie Irvine's goal of the season contender (pictured) and Kit Napier on target. Both teams ultimately won promotion just ahead of Bournemouth. It was a match still recalled by many of the 30,000 or so who were there or about 12 million who saw highlights on television.
Key stat For all their attacking and creative talents, Villa are in the bottom three for shots on target in away games with just three per-match, the same as Leicester and slightly more than Southampton. Bizarrely, Arsenal are also in the bottom six. Did you know? Fourteen of Villa's last 15 goals in all competitions have been scored in the second half.
(Image: None) What do Aston Villa do well? Under manager Unai Emery, Aston Villa have developed a potent attacking strategy, with a focus on quick transitions and wide play. Villa are capable of creating goal-scoring opportunities through fluid passing and fast counter-attacks. Villa pressing game is effective, making it difficult for Brighton to break them down.
What do they do not so well? One of Villa's biggest challenges has been maintaining consistency, particularly against lower-tier teams. They can sometimes struggle to break down teams that sit deep defensively, leading to frustrating draws or losses. While they’ve improved defensively, Villa can still be exposed at times, especially in high-pressure situations.
They’ve occasionally been caught out by quick, direct attacks, and individual errors at the back can sometimes lead to goals Who catches your eye for them this season? Ollie Watkins, of course, catches the attention of most sides but I have to say the addition of Rashford and Marco Asensio have been key to add quality in the forward portions. Asensio for me could prove an excellent position a bad injury at PSG stopped his progress there moving forward but I think Villa have got a quality player and one I always enjoy watching What is the key to beating them? Brighton press against them can be key in how to stop Villa getting into a good situations or getting their attacking players into effective positions. They can be again exposed down the wide areas in the full back positions.
.
