Aston Villa vs Brighton prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2024-12-29 19:45.
[p]The difference between Aston Villa’s home and away form could hardly be more stark. Unai Emery’s side have suffered five successive league losses on the road, whereas at Villa Park, they are on an impressive run of just one defeat in their last 12 games outings across all competitions (W7, D4), meaning that, although they have slipped into mid-table in the Premier League, they remain within touching distance of the European places.[/p]
[p]Their most recent encounter was a chastening 3-0 loss at Newcastle United on Boxing Day, when Emery was left fuming with VAR for not overturning a red card shown to Jhon Durán. The striker will now be suspended for the visit of Brighton, with the Villans at risk of being beaten in back-to-back top-flight matches for only the second time since May 2023![/p]
[p]The hosts should be confident of avoiding defeat against the Seagulls though, given that their opponents have lost the last three away H2Hs, with a 6-1 hammering last season serving as their joint-heaviest Premier League defeat ever. Brighton also arrive in the West Midlands on their joint-longest winless run since April 2022, with six matches having passed since they last tasted success (D4, L2).[/p]
[p]The latest of those was a 0-0 stalemate with Brentford on Friday – just their second goalless draw since Fabian HĂĽrzeler took the reins in the summer. The manager admitted there was “not a great atmosphere” in the dressing room after that result, and the club’s away form provides little reason to be cheery ahead of this outing, as Brighton have earned only four league victories on their travels since the start of last December (D8, L10).[/p]
[p]Key battle: Six of Morgan Rogers’ last seven goals for Aston Villa have come before half-time. One of the players tasked with stopping him might be Brighton captain Lewis Dunk, although he has worryingly kept just two clean sheets in 11 H2Hs (W2, D4, L5).[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Brighton have only conceded first in two of their nine away league games this season – a joint-low figure in the division ahead of this round of fixtures. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Matt Jones[/i][/p]