Brighton & Hove Albion should be aiming to make it three Premier League wins on the bounce on Sunday when they welcome Aston Villa to the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls seem to have turned around a corner under Roberto de Zerbi, winning back-to-back league games against Chelsea and Wolves, respectively. They followed up the 3-2 win over Wolves last weekend by dumping Arsenal out of the EFL Cup third round on Wednesday, beating Mikel Arteta’s side 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Confidence certainly will be high in the Brighton camp ahead of the game against Aston Villa, who head to Sussex after being beaten by Man United 4-2 at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup third round.
Brighton Team News
Brighton players came out unscathed from their midweek win over Arsenal, and as a result, only Jakub Moder should be absent for the hosts with his long-term knee injury.
Predicted Brighton Lineup vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
Robert Sanchez was on the bench in the EFL Cup win over Arsenal but should resume his goalkeeping duties on Sunday when Aston Villa pay a visit to the Amex Stadium.
Defence
Roberto de Zerbi has found success in the back-to-back league wins over Chelsea and Wolves with the 4-2-3-1 formation. So, he is likely to persist with it against Villa, with skipper Lewis Dunk starting alongside Adam Webster in central defence in the Fulham lineup.
Pascal Gross has thrived in the new role at right-back in recent games and is set to continue, with Pervis Estupinan getting the nod at left-back over Tariq Lamptey despite the youngster’s impressive showing against Arsenal in the cup fixture.
Midfield
In central midfield, Alexis Mac Allister is expected to be recalled, having been rested in the Carabao Cup match on Wednesday. Mac Allister will resume his partnership with Moises Caicedo in the middle of the park in the Brighton lineup, as the duo looks to dictate terms while disrupting Villa’s rhythm.
Adam Lallana will act as the creative glue between the midfield and attack as he looks to get himself on the scoresheet again after netting in the 3-2 win over Wolves.
Billy Gilmour, however, will drop to the bench after playing the full 90 minutes against Arsenal.
Attack
Despite Danny Welbeck scoring against his former employers in midweek, he is set to drop to the bench with Leandro Trossard leading the attack in the Brighton lineup. With his burst of pace, movement and incisive passing, Trossard could cause a few problems for the opposition in the final third.
Solly March will look forward to putting his pace and directness to good use on the right flank in the Brighton lineup, while Kaoru Mitoma tries to give a good account of himself from the left after the Japanese attacker’s back-to-back goal-scoring displays against Wolves and Arsenal, respectively.
