Brighton travel to the midlands to face Aston Villa for the early kick-off on Saturday, with both sides looking to avenge midweek Carabao Cup defeats.
Both sides rotated in their respective cup exits, following wins for both in the league last weekend. Only three points split Villa and Brighton, with The Seagulls currently sitting third in the league table and their opponents in 6th. It is perhaps no surprise to see both of these sides start the campaign so well given their fine seasons last time out.
There are a number of similarities between the two sides, with both playing European football this season and both having managers that received enormous amounts of praise for the relative success they have had at their respective clubs. Roberto De Zerbi is rumoured to be on the shortlist to replace Carlo Ancelotti as manager of Real Madrid and Unai Emery has proven his pedigree once more; having come to England with something of a point to prove following his sacking from Arsenal in 2019.
Remarkably, Brighton are currently the league's top scorers with 18 in their six league games. Aston Villa are performing well in front of goal too, with 12 in their six league games so far. This is a fixture that should bring its fair share of excitement and with that, hopefully, goals.
Team News
Aston Villa
Emery will have to make do without injured trio Emiliano Bundia, Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos who have all missed the past few games. The Spanish manager will be desperate to get them back available given their importance to the side, but will have to devise a plan to face Brighton that does not include the three regular starters.
Midfielder Timothy Iroegbunam and attacker Bertrand Traore are also expected to miss this one through injury but it could be argued neither would be likely to start regardless.
Youri Tielemans and Leander Dendoncker were both given a starting role in the rotated Carabao Cup side that lost to Everton, with the duo failing to seize their opportunity to stake a claim for a start on Saturday.
Brighton
Brighton's injury list is shorter than that of their opponents, but they will be sweating on the fitness of Pascal Gross who is set to undergo further tests to assess whether or not this game comes too soon.
Julio Enciso, James Milner and Jakub Molder will all miss the fixture through injury. One of Brighton's biggest strengths in their ability to rotate players with little change in the quality of the side and they will be confident they can cope even if Gross is to be ruled out of contention.
Likely Lineups
Aston Villa
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Kamara, Luiz, McGinn, Zaniolo; Diaby, Watkins
Brighton
Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupiñán; Gilmour, Dahoud; March, Welbeck, Mitoma; Ferguson
Key Players
Aston Villa - Moussa Diaby
Eyebrows were raised when Villa secured the signing of Diaby in the summer and it was a real statement of intent from the club. The France international offers The Villains an extra dimension in attack with his pace, dribbling ability and wand of a left foot.
De Zerbi will surely have spent a decent proportion of time devising a strategy to deal with the man with two goals and two assists in the league this season given his threat. Regardless of such a plan, it would come as no surprise to see Diaby carve out a route to goal given his direct nature.
Diaby has tended to play as a second striker or attacking midfielder in his time at the Villa Park club so far, having spent the majority of his time at previous club Bayer Leverkusen operating from the right wing. The 24-year-old has been a revelation in the opening weeks of the campaign and will surely be Villa's biggest threat once more this weekend.
Brighton - Kaoru Mitoma
Given De Zerbi's tendency to rotate and conjure new game plans depending on his opponent, it is often difficult to predict who will start the game let alone a key player within that.
That being said, Japanese international Mitoma is a player that will command a lot of attention from Villa's defence. The 26-year-old already has three goals and three assists to his name in the league this season and came off the bench at half-time last weekend to secure a match-winning brace.
Mitoma will likely be coming up against Matty Cash in what should be a fascinating contest. Cash loves to get forward and join the attack but he may have to limit his attacking exploits on Saturday to prevent Mitoma getting too much space.
Match Details
Where is the game being played?
Villa are at home, so will welcome their opponents to Villa Park for this one.
What time is kick-off?
It's the first game of the weekend's Premier League action and will kick off at 12:30 BST on Saturday.
How can I watch?
The game is televised and will be on TNT Sports for UK viewers.
