Aston Villa v Brighton: Premier League predictions, free betting tips & TV

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Aston Villa v Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 3pm Saturday

Best bet

Aston Villa
2pts 5-4 Hills

Team news

Aston Villa
Tom Heaton, Wesley, Bjorn Engels, Frederic Guilbert and Kortney Hause are sidelined but winger Bertrand Traore is fit again.

Brighton
Florin Andone (knee) is out but Lewis Dunk is back after a ban. Solly March, Leandro Trossard, Aaron Connolly and Jose Izquierdo are doubts.

Match preview

Aston Villa's Premier League campaign started with an understated 1-0 home win over Sheffield United before an extraordinary run of results for Dean Smith's side.

Their next three home fixtures produced an astonishing 7-2 win over champions Liverpool, a 3-0 defeat to Leeds, and a 4-3 reverse against Southampton in which they trailed 4-0 before the hour-mark.

Smith got the response he wanted to those two defeats when his side won 3-0 at Arsenal before the international break and Villa can pick up where they left off with a victory over Brighton.

The Seagulls have collected more praise than points this season and they still lack the cutting edge up front to turn their possession-based football into regular top-flight wins.

Villa have no such problems, as a tally of 18 goals in seven league games suggests, and key man Jack Grealish should be brimming with confidence after his impressive displays for England.

Grealish's supporting cast is far stronger than it was during last season's brush with relegation and Chelsea loanee Ross Barkley, fit-again Bertrand Traore, and club-record signing Ollie Watkins should cause problems for Brighton's defence.

Watkins, last season's top scorer in the Championship with Brentford, followed up his hat-trick against Liverpool with two goals in the win at Arsenal and is relishing the step up to the Premier League.

Brighton have scored only three times in their last four games and they may struggle against a Villa side who have won four of their last six home league matches.

Key stat

Aston Villa have scored three or more goals in four of their last six Premier League matches.

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