Last time out for the home side, the Seagulls were unfortunate to get a result against a revitalised Everton side under Carlo Ancelotti. Richarlison’s goal secured the three points for the Toffees and left Brighton empty handed.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Villa faced Manchester City at Villa Park and were blown away by the reigning Premier League champions. A 6-1 defeat to the Citizens meant the Birmingham based club are stuck in the relegation zone.<\/p>\n
Brighton’s Aaron Mooy has recovered from the knee problem that caused him to miss last week’s defeat at Everton.<\/p>\n
Shane Duffy, Adam Webster and Alireza Jahanbakhsh have overcome minor issues.<\/p>\n
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina is poised to make his first Premier League appearance since May 2013 after joining Aston Villa on loan.<\/p>\n
Matt Targett and Bjorn Engels should be fit to return but Jonathan Kodjia is in talks about a move elsewhere and will not be involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey played the champions last weekend and that type of result can happen. They had some good results before that, so we know they\u2019ll want to respond to last Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know we have to attack and defend well. They\u2019ve moved to a back five recently and that can mean it\u2019s sometimes tough to create chances. They have good players and when you lose the ball they can hurt you, that\u2019s just the nature of the Premier League and so we have to be on our game to get a result.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been nice to have a full week of training after a busy Christmas period and we\u2019ve had a lot of time for prepare for the game, so we feel good in that respect.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith previewed this weekend\u2019s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, hoping his side can bounce back from last week’s 6-1 humiliation:<\/h3>\n
\u201cWe did the debrief the following day and I spoke to the players about the fact that we got beat 6-1 at home by arguably one of best teams in Europe, but made five fouls all day, that was a big thing for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can beat anybody. I saw Brighton play Man City away, they played well and got beat 4-0, we didn\u2019t play well and got beat 6-1 and we helped them in a number of their goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact we didn\u2019t engage and weren\u2019t aggressive enough, that\u2019s the message I was getting across to the players. In all fairness, the response in training has been very good. Like I said after the game, I\u2019m not excusing the performance because it wasn\u2019t good enough, but any team can get beaten 6-1 by Manchester City.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important we put it behind us and stick it in a concrete box and bury it 6ft underground.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Head-to-head<\/h3>\n
Brighton have gone nine league and cup games without beating Aston Villa since a 1-0 top-flight home win in December 1980 (D3, L6). Villa have already beaten Brighton twice this season: 3-1 in the League Cup at the Amex Stadium and 2-1 at Villa Park in the Premier League. This is their first top-flight meeting on the south coast since a goalless draw at the Goldstone Ground in March 1983.<\/p>\n
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