Premier League: Villa Aim to Recover After Seeing Red

Aston Villa vs Brighton & Hove Albion

Two teams in danger of falling out of the Top 10 will square off, as Aston Villa host Brighton at Villa Park on Monday. The hosts and the visitors are next to each other in the Premier League standings, with Aston Villa in ninth place with 28 points and Brighton in 10^th place with 26 points. Aston Villa are coming off a chastening 3-0 loss against Newcastle United last Thursday, while Brighton were held for the second straight time after a goalless draw against Brentford last night.

Winning this match will be a huge boost for these two teams. Depending on this weekend’s Premier League 2024 results, either Aston Villa or Brighton can go as high as fifth place, especially if Newcastle United, Bournemouth, Manchester City, and Fulham hit a banana peel in their respective matches.

Learn more about these two teams by reading today’s SBOTOP match preview.

 

Talking Points

Aston Villa lose their super sub

After scoring a 2-1 win over Manchester City last week, Aston Villa hit a fork in the road with a shutout loss against Newcastle United because they were reduced to 10 men early on. Jhon Duran, who started in place of Ollie Watkins, was sent off for appearing to stamp on Fabian Schar. Head coach Unai Emery felt that the straight red card was a knee-jerk reaction by the officials.

Aston Villa tried to appeal Jhon Duran’s red card, but the FA rejected it. As a result, the Colombian striker will miss the next three matches. It is a huge blow for Unai Emery’s side since Duran is the team’s joint-top scorer with seven league goals despite mostly coming off the bench.

Unai Emery will recall Ollie Watkins in the starting lineup, and he’ll join Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, and Youri Tielemans in the final third. Look for Watkins to be aggressive because he hasn’t found the back of the net since their 3-1 win over Brentford earlier this month. Fortunately for Aston Villa, they have no new injuries, so Emery has his pick of the litter.

 

Brighton receive huge lineup boost

Solly March was back on the pitch for the first time in 14 months after a major knee injury, and he almost scored the matchwinner for Brighton last night. Unfortunately for the 30-year-old winger, his attempt flew over the crossbar, and the Seagulls had to settle for a point on the road. Despite the missed shot, it was a cool moment for the fans at the AMEX Stadium, and March hopes to continue to help his team.

Fabian Hurzeler probably felt that the Brentford game was a missed opportunity for them to tack on points because they were the aggressors all evening. Brighton had 24 shots compared to Brentford’s eight, with seven of their attempts on target.

Julio Enciso was the poster boy of the Seagulls’ profligacy in the final third since the Paraguayan forward launched eight shots in the first half, but none went in. Simply put, Brighton need to be more clinical, especially against Aston Villa.

 

History

Brighton won 1-0 in their last Premier League meeting against Aston Villa in May, as Joao Pedro scored the matchwinner in the 87^th minute. Before this, Aston Villa had beaten Brighton in five consecutive matches. The Seagulls have won just one of their 14 away league matches against the Villans (D3, L10). Their last result at Villa Park was a humiliating 6-1 result last September.

Aston Villa have lost only one of their last 14 Premier League games at Villa Park (W7, D6). They are unbeaten in their eight home games since a 2-0 loss to Arsenal last August (W5, D3). The Villans aim to win their final league game in consecutive calendar years for the first time since 2007-08.

 

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2024 odds favour the hosts to win on Monday. Aston Villa are 1.95 favourites, whereas Brighton are priced to win at 3.31, and a draw is at 3.50 in the 1X2 market. Despite not having Jhon Duran, Aston Villa have enough weapons to pile more misery on Brighton. The Seagulls have been subpar on the defensive side of the pitch, so we will likely see a handful of goals.

Besides our recommended bet above, bettors can also go for options like Over 2.75 at 1.72, Over 3.00 at 1.96, Over 3.25 at 2.23, or even Total Goal 4-6 at 2.68. Meanwhile, a Correct Score of 1-0 in favour of Brighton – the result of their last league meeting – has an enticing 14.00 offer.

   

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