A fascinating Premier League battle between two newly-appointed managers takes place at the Amex Stadium on Sunday afternoon, as Brighton & Hove Albion play host to Aston Villa.
The Seagulls enter the final weekend before the World Cup having knocked Arsenal out of the EFL Cup, while Unai Emery's men failed to make lightning strike twice against Manchester United in the same tournament.
Match preview
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In Arsenal's current form, not many sides will proudly claim to have come away from the Emirates with three goals and a victory to their name, but Brighton maintained their professionalism against a second-string Gunners side to pick up a deserved win in the EFL Cup.
Roberto De Zerbi's men were on top before Eddie Nketiah drew first blood, but Danny Welbeck's penalty preceded second-half strikes from Karou Mitoma and Tariq Lamptey as Brighton progressed to the fourth round, where they will now meet Charlton Athletic.
Victory at the Emirates came only a few days after De Zerbi's side had scored three on rival turf at Molineux to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the top flight, and Brighton are now aiming to win four games on the bounce in all competitions for the first time since their Championship days in April 2017.
Better late than never for the new manager bounce to kick in, as Brighton continue to hover around the European places in sixth spot in the table - two points behind Manchester United and just five adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have played a game more.
If scoring 10 goals in their last three games is not reason to believe that an exciting showdown should be on the cards, Brighton already have a joint-high six goals in the opening 15 minutes of Premier League games this season, level with none other than Aston Villa.
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Four days after kicking off his second Premier League reign with a 3-1 win over Manchester United, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery quickly renewed hostilities with Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford for the EFL Cup, but the Dutchman earned his slice of revenge in a 4-2 thriller.
Ollie Watkins and a Diogo Dalot own goal either side of Anthony Martial's response had put Villa 2-1 up on the night, but Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay all breached the Lions' defence to hand Emery a bit of a reality check.
The former Arsenal and Villarreal boss could not have been expecting an exact replica of Villa's performance from their 3-1 win over the Red Devils in the Premier League, though, but that inaugural success sees the Lions sit safely in 13th place and three clear of the drop zone - still far from where they aspire to be as a club, though.
Defeat at Old Trafford proved that away day performances are still a sticky point for the West Midlands side, who have now lost three on the bounce on rival territory - conceding 11 goals in that spell - and they are one of only four sides without a Premier League win on the road this term, the others being Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest.
Aston Villa managed to claim a pair of 2-0 victories over Brighton in the 2021-22 Premier League season, having only managed to win one of their previous four top-flight meetings with the South coast side, but the Lions have never claimed successive victories away from home in this fixture, and their defensive frailties on the road are unlikely to help them in that regard.
Team News
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Brighton did not sustain any fresh injury concerns in the win over Arsenal, and as a result, only Jakub Moder should be absent for the Seagulls with his long-term knee issue.
De Zerbi oversaw a memorable Emirates win despite making a plethora of changes to the side that got the job done against Wolves, and the likes of Welbeck - who is without a Premier League goal despite having 10 shots on target - and Lamptey can expect to drop out despite their strikes in North London.
Fresh from being named in the Belgium squad for the 2022 World Cup, Leandro Trossard should come back in to lead the line as he aims to build on the seven top-flight strikes that he has already amassed this term.
As for Villa, Leander Dendoncker and Jan Bednarek will be back at Emery's disposal after being cup-tied for the loss to Man United, and the former ought to return in the middle for Boubacar Kamara.
The visitors also remain rather fortunate on the injury front, with only Philippe Coutinho (thigh) and Diego Carlos (calf) taking up spots in the infirmary, and Emery will also make changes in abundance after putting out a rotated side in the EFL Cup.
Following the win over Man United at Villa Park, Leon Bailey hit out at the officials on social media after apparent elbows from Lisandro Martinez went unpunished, but the Jamaican winger was arguably fortunate not to have seen red himself after kicking out at the Argentine on Thursday night, with no VAR in operation to review the incident.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Gross, Dunk, Webster, Estupinan; Caicedo, Mac Allister; March, Lallana, Mitoma; Trossard
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Dendoncker, Luiz; Bailey, Ramsey, Buendia; Watkins
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Aston Villa
Brighton have never won four games in a row in all competitions during their Premier League era, but there is every reason for the Amex faithful to believe that a new chapter of history can be written this weekend, with De Zerbi's side possessing the golden touch in the final third.
Villa have also shown plenty of attacking promise under Emery so far, but there will be no quick fix to their abysmal form on the road, and we expect the Seagulls to be flying high before the World Cup break.
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Ben Knapton
