Aston Villa vs. Brighton & Hove Albion: Unai Emery's side bidding to avoid making top-flight history in Seagulls showdown

Aston Villa are at risk of setting unwanted top-flight history when they play Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night.

Unai Emery's side welcome the Seagulls to the West Midlands sitting in third position in the Premier League table.

However, Villa have accumulated just five points from as many games, most recently being held to a 1-1 draw by Bournemouth at the weekend.

As a result, Villa are now only four points ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea as they bid to remain in the top four of the division.

Furthermore, their recent indifferent form has left Villa on the cusp of setting an unwanted record for England's top flight.

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What record are Villa bidding to avoid setting?

Not so long ago, Villa were making headlines for registering an incredible eight successive home wins in the Premier League.

With Everton and Brentford as their next two opponents, there had been the prospect of reaching double figures, only to lose 1-0 to the Toffees and Bees respectively.

If Villa suffer defeat to Brighton on Wednesday, they will become the first team in the history of English top-flight football to follow a home winning streak of eight or more matches with three defeats in a row.

Villa are also bidding to avoid losing three successive Premier League home games since under Dean Smith in November 2020.

They will remain confident that they can back on track, with seven victories having been posted in their last nine Premier League games with the South-coast outfit.

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Will Brighton welcome away match?

Brighton were booed off when they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at the Amex Stadium on Sunday.

Fabian Hurzeler's side have now won just one of their most recent 12 games in the Premier League.

However, Brighton have not emerged victorious in an away top-flight fixture since beating Nottingham Forest by a 2-0 scoreline on November 30.

That said, it is worth nothing that they have not conceded more than twice in the five away matches that have followed, a run which has included Liverpool (2-0), Arsenal (2-1) and Manchester City (1-1).

Prior to Michael Carrick's appointment as Manchester United manager, Brighton also recorded a 2-1 win over the Red Devils in an FA Cup third round tie at Old Trafford.