Matchday Guide: Aston Villa v Brighton & Hove Albion

Welcome the Villans to Villa Park on Sunday by greeting the team bus!

Supporters can help inspire the heroes by creating a great atmosphere in the build-up to kick-off. 

And we'd love fans to welcome Unai Emery's players and staff to the stadium when the team bus arrives at approximately 3pm. 

Fans will have the chance to show their appreciation for one of Aston Villa's promotion heroes and longest-serving player ahead of kick-off.

Jed Steer, who will depart this summer after ten years at the club, will be celebrated as the club recognise his contributions as a Villa player. 

The goalkeeper will be introduced to the crowd before coming out onto the pitch. 

Club legend Olof Mellberg makes a special return to Villa Park on Sunday. 

The Swedish defender, who made over 260 appearances for Villa during a seven-year period, will be introduced to the crowd before kick-off. 

Mellberg will also share some insight about his time as a Villan with fans inside the stadium.

Villa Park will unite at half-time to remember supporters who have passed away during the past year.

Our annual ‘Holte Enders in the Sky’ tribute will be shown on the big screens around the stadium.

Following the Holte Enders in the Sky dedication, a Period of Tribute will take place to mark the lives of former Villa staff members, players and managers.

As is customary after the final home game of the season, staff and players will embark on a lap of appreciation.

After heading back to the dressing rooms following the full-time whistle, the players will return to the pitch shortly after. 

Players will then have the opportunity to show their appreciation for supporters during a lap of the pitch. 

*Please note this will only take place if fans DO NOT enter the field of play at the full-time whistle.

The club gives our full support to Project B6, who will have over 50 volunteers waving a range of unique Villa flags in the Lower Holte this weekend.

Designed by fans for fans, keep an eye out for the display during the pre-match build-up!

Sunday's season finale is sold out - thanks for your fantastic support!

A small number of tickets may become available via resale. Season Ticket holders who are unable to attend can list their seat for resale online or by calling our ticket office on 0333 323 1874. Resale is open until 24 hours before kick-off.

The best way to secure tickets for future matches at Villa Park is via a Membership. 

Villa Park is now fully NFC ticketing enabled for supporters to access the stadium. Near-Field Communication (NFC) enables fans to enter the stadium via Apple or Google Wallet. Click here for more information.

It's important that supporters take steps to plan their visit to the stadium. 

Turnstiles open at 3pm, so make sure you arrive at the stadium in plenty of time ahead of kick-off to ensure smooth entry. However you're planning on getting to the match, take a look at our Travel & Parking guide before leaving home. 

A traffic exclusion zone will be in operation around the stadium, meaning there will be less traffic on Trinity Road and Witton Lane from up to two hours before the match starts. 

The Holte Suite and Holte Pub will open three hours prior to kick-off and close two hours after full-time.

Aston Villa supporters can pre-book official matchday parking for the first time thanks to new partnerships. 

Supporters can pre-book their space via either of the links below.

www.astonvillaparking.co.uk

www.countrywidemanagementsolutions.co.uk

Supporters are also advised of the following matchday parking sites around Villa Park:

• Powerleague (£10 – payment by cash or card)
• Aston Tower School (£7 - cash only)
• Birchfield School (£7 - cash only)

Broadway School and Aston Social Club should also be available for supporters to access.

The club now has two dedicated bus services that run to Villa Park on matchday; AV1 which runs from Tamworth and AV2 which runs from Cannock. You can purchase tickets here.

The bike rack at Villa Park has now been moved behind the Villa Village building on the North Stand car park. 

Additional transport to Sunday’s game against Brighton and Hove Albion at Villa Park is available.

For fans travelling to the stadium from the city centre, a pre-match shuttle bus service will run from Dudley Street (near New Street Station) starting at 2pm. 

Buses will depart at 10-minute intervals, with the final service leaving at 4pm. The buses will drop fans at Grosvenor Road near Aston train station, leaving supporters with a five-minute walk to Villa Park.

Post-match, shuttles will run from Grosvenor Road starting at 6pm.  Again, buses will depart at 10-minute intervals, with the final service leaving at 8pm. 

All services will shuttle fans back to Dudley Street.

Each shuttle (one-way) will be priced at £5. Payment can made either by cash or card, payable to the driver on the bus.

Marshalls will be on hand to ensure passengers access the services safely from both the city centre and Grosvenor Road.

The Family Fun Zone in Villa Park’s Academy Building will be fully operational on Sunday from 2:30-4:30pm

Young Villans can take part in a number of exciting, fun activities ahead of kick-off. We have football darts, assault course, speed cage, laser tag, giant connect 4, foot poot, mega buzzwire, face painting and a DJ

We kindly ask that fans do not bring their own footballs into the Fun Zone. Unsupervised games of football cause increased risk of harm to all in attendance. Thank you as always for your cooperation and support.

We will have a Welfare Officer based in the Fun Zone, as well as others around the stadium, wearing distinctive high vis who are on hand to help with any questions or concerns while visiting Villa Park.

Purple wristbands, which were introduced last season, will once again be available from the Fun Zone to help keep children safe. Staff will be offering parents the opportunity to receive a purple wristband that your child can wear.

Parents can write their contact details on the wristband and if your child was to become separated from you or felt unsafe, they could approach a steward or another member of staff and show their wristband. Stewards or staff can then duly contact parents and/or Aston Villa Head of Safeguarding Andy Bowly for assistance and support.

Villa Park offers a wide range of cuisine and beverages on a matchday.

Outside the stadium, several street food trucks will be situated on the Trinity Stand forecourt alongside a bar serving alcoholic and soft drinks from 12pm.

Please note bar and toilet facilities at Ramsey’s Bar will be out of use for the Brighton game, but supporters will still be able to access the concourse if they wish. We apologise for any inconvenience.

The Trinity Fan Zone helps fans countdown to kick-off on every matchday at Villa Park. See below for Saturday's line-up...

12pm: Food and drink vendors open
2pm: Football freestyle from Stephen Gray 
2:30pm: Live music from The Quad Rox
3:30pm: A Q&A with Villa legend Tony Morley

Please note, Villa Park will be cashless to help ensure safe social distancing practices and minimise contact at all points of sale. This includes the Villa Store, with card payments widely accepted in and around the stadium.

The only exception is programme kiosks outside the ground, which will still accept cash.

In-stadia betting kiosks will also be in operation for this fixture and such service will be provided on a cashless basis.

We’re pleased to announce a significant investment in the Lower Holte concourse where we have added the latest technology allowing supporters to enjoy quicker service times.

Sixteen new self-order units have been installed to replace the traditional bar service with the additional benefit of being able to order and pay for pre-match and half-time refreshments in one transaction, meaning a quicker service throughout your matchday experience.

On the Lower Holte concourse, (closest to the Doug Ellis stand) these screens will allow you to order a range of alcoholic drinks, soft drinks & confectionary which can be collected from the two bars opposite the Holte Suite. On the Lower Holte concourse, (closest to the Trinity stand) these screens will allow you to order a range of alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, hot drinks & Panjabi Grill hot food which can be collected from the Panjabi Grill kiosk.  

In February, launched a Frictionless Kiosk using ground-breaking AI technology which will see super quick service times and a simple ‘Tap and Go’ approach to matchday refreshments.

Please look out for staff in Pink vests who will be happy to direct & support. We hope this new, user-friendly experience will help you enjoy your day out at Villa Park.

For fans in Upper Doug Ellis, Bar 1874 will be open at half-time offering a range of alcoholic drinks, soft drinks & hot food.

Aston Villa’s brand-new ‘Tap + Go Holte Bar’ will be open for business, meaning supporters will be able to buy refreshments using state-of-the-art contactless technology.

Fans simply tap in with a payment card, grab food and drink items and exit the gates to enjoy the game – it’s that simple! Click here for more details. 

There are a number of places where supporters can shop for Aston Villa merchandise on a matchday. Below you'll find the opening times for each shop around the ground...

Villa Store: 10m-4:30pm and 6-7pm

Holte Store: 1:30-4:30pm and 6-7pm

Holte Suite: 1:30-4:30pm and 6-7pm

Trinity pop-up store: 3-4:30pm and at half-time

Family Fun Zone: 2:30-4:30pm

82 Lounge: 1:30-4:30pm and 6-7pm

Click and collect locations are at the Villa Store, Holte Store, Holte Suite and Hospitality 82. The click and collect order option will be turned off at half-time but any orders placed up to then will be available to collect until that retail unit closes.

For the final time this season, supporters can snap up a bargain in the Villa Store on matchday.

Our End of Season Sale is now on, so don't miss out on some great discounts! 

Personalised souvenirs are now available at the Villa Store at Villa Park, with our new interactive touchscreen kiosk. Create unique gifts including tumblers, notepads, keyrings, and coasters with designs made just for you! Prices start from just £5.

If you witness discriminatory behaviour at a match or around a stadium, please report it to the police or a steward.

Supporters at Villa Park can text REPORT to 60060 along with the location of the incident and details of what you have witnessed.

The text line also includes the reporting of any safeguarding concerns. The text service will be supported by our security team and West Midlands Police. Each text costs one standard message at your network rate. The club may share your details with West Midlands Police if further information is required to assist with a criminal prosecution.

We would like to remind supporters that Villa Park is an all-seater stadium.

In all areas of Villa Park, we have children, elderly fans and those with medical conditions who are unable to see or watch the match if supporters stand up in front of them.

Please be mindful of this at all times and thank you for your cooperation.

A new ‘Match Predictor’ game is now live on the memberships portal. Fans can enter for free, you don’t need a paid membership, just a free digital account.

Simply predict the score and first goal scorer for the chance to win prizes. The match predictor will be live for all home games going forward. There is an overall season leaderboard and prizes will be awarded for every home game week.

This season we will be running the 'Cazoo Matchday Quiz'. A question will be read out and shown on the big screens before kick-off. Fans have until the half-time whistle blows to submit their entry by tweeting their answer using #partofthepride and including their seat number, row, block and stand. Some great prizes are up for grabs, including season tickets, signed shirts, signed footballs, tickets to watch the first team train and a matchday mascot package. T&C’s apply. For more info, click here.

Three lucky fans will win the chance to play 'Prize Where It Lies'. Each fan will have one attempt to land the ball on the target, with big prizes up for grabs. Members and Season Ticket Holders can enter NOW for the chance to take part in upcoming experiences.

We'll also be running a World Supercross Championship competition on matchday. Simplu answer the WSX trivia question correctly via Twitter to win two WSX Premium tickets and a merchandise pack for two! Keep your eyes peeled on the big screen for the question and how to enter.

Huge thanks to partners Castore, Cazoo, Luke Roper, Monster Energy, Heineken, and Fanatics for offering some excellent prizes!

We want to know about your matchday experience at Villa Park. Tweet us using #AVFCLive to let us know your matchday experiences and you could be featured on the big screens at the stadium!

Fans will again be able to take part in the ‘Pick a Player’ game on Pride Rewards for the chance to earn loyalty points. All you have to do is pick a player for the match and their performance during the game will earn you points. The Pride Rewards collection point will be open from 12:30-2:30pm. 

Season Ticket holders and members can head to the Pride Rewards page now and use their loyalty points to redeem amazing money-can’t-buy experiences and gifts. In upcoming events, supporters can now enter the draw for the chance to step onto the hallowed Villa Park turf via our ‘Half Time Selfie’ experience.