At A Glance
Aston Villa’s penultimate game of 2022 will be played against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The team head into their final game before the World Cup break having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Manchester United in midweek.
Unai Emery’s side had seen off the Red Devils 3-1 in the Premier League five days earlier as they got the head coach’s reign off to the perfect start.
Brighton fared better in the Carabao Cup third round, progressing with a 3-1 win against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.
The result followed up their 3-2 success versus Wolves in the top flight last weekend as they moved into the upper echelons of the table.
Leandro Trossard’s goals have propelled the Seagulls, with the Belgian just one strike away from equalling his best goalscoring tally (8) in the league.
Standout Stats
Brighton's only victory in the past 14 competitive meetings was by 2-1 away in the Premier League two years ago (D5, L8).
Both of Unai Emery's previous Premier League meetings against Brighton ended in a 1-1 draw.
Brighton have earned back-to-back wins under Roberto De Zerbi following a run of two draws and three defeats in his first five games.
Both Brighton and Aston Villa have scored a league-high six goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches this season.
The south coast side can equal the club's Premier League record of three consecutive victories, set in October 2018 under Chris Hughton.
Albion went into this weekend's fixtures in sixth place; their highest top-flight position on Christmas Day is eighth in 1981-82.
Their solitary defeat in the past 10 home league games came against Spurs last month.
Villa are winless in all seven Premier League away fixtures this season, managing two points and three goals.
The Seagulls are winless in seven league and cup home fixtures against Aston Villa since a 1-0 top-flight triumph at Goldstone Ground in December 1980.
Aston Villa have won two of their past three league games, as many as they had in their previous 15. They're vying to record consecutive top-flight victories for the first time since May.
The Last Meeting
Aston Villa enjoyed a superb away day on the south coast as they overcame Brighton at the Amex Stadium back in February.
Matty Cash thrashed in the opening goal after 17 minutes before Ollie Watkins wrapped up the three points in the second half.
Young midfielder Tim Iroegbunam made his debut as a late substitute, capping off a stellar away day for the Villans.
Team News
Boubacar Kamara and Ludwig Augustinsson made their returns from injury against Manchester United in midweek, with the rest of the team also coming through unscathed.
Diego Carlos and Philippe Coutinho remain sidelined.
Brighton have an almost fully fit squad to choose from as they chase a third straight Premier League win, with only Jakub Moder missing for Sunday.
The Boss
“Brighton are playing very well; they are working together with the same idea and style. They changed the coach but the players are in a good way with a lot of confidence. They are playing very good matches. It’s a challenge for us but I like to have challenges in front like on Sunday because I think the only way to improve and show our capacity to get good results is to play against good teams with good players.”
Unai Emery
