Brighton vs Aston Villa prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2025-04-01 18:45.
[p]Brighton’s full focus from now until the end of the season is trained on qualifying for Europe through their Premier League finish, after they were knocked out of the FA Cup on Saturday by Nottingham Forest. A disappointing performance eventually saw the Seagulls beaten on penalties, leaving boss Fabian Hürzeler demanding a reaction as his side look to extend a five-match unbeaten run in the league (W4, D1) that has put them within striking distance of the top four.[/p]
[p]Three of those wins came at the Amex Stadium, presenting Brighton with the opportunity to win four successive home matches for the first time in their top-flight history. Recent H2H history against Aston Villa suggests that’s a tough ask as the Seagulls have won just one of the last five league meetings here (D2, L2), though it was in last season’s corresponding fixture in May (1-0).[/p]
[p]Unlike their hosts, Aston Villa secured their place in the FA Cup semi-finals by beating second-tier Preston 3-0 on Sunday. That was a third successive away win in as many different competitions for Unai Emery’s men, but with the Villans travelling south just two points behind Brighton, they can’t afford to shift priorities in the race for European football.[/p]
[p]Villa are aiming to win back-to-back away league matches for the first time since their opening two road games of the season, and will likely need a clean sheet to do it, as they’ve scored multiple goals just once in their last ten away Premier League matches. That would also require Villa to break a two-match winless H2H run (D1, L1) which came on the back of five successive victories over Brighton![/p]
[p]Key battle: Centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke has landed the highest Flashscore rating in two of his last three club appearances, one of which saw him score in Brighton’s last home league match against Fulham. He’ll be up against Villa striker Ollie Watkins, who has seen 11 of his 13 Premier League goals this term serve as equalisers or give his side the lead.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Villa have conceded a league-high nine goals between the 76th minute and full-time in away matches this season.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Ryan Fisher[/i][/p]