The two teams meet in the Barclays Premier League this Monday when the hosting Ninth entertain the Tenth, Brighton & Hove Albion at Aston Villa.
The visitors will be reeling from a bruising defeat on Boxing Day and Brighton’s lengthy winless run continued in frustrating manner a day later.
Villa were well beaten 3-0 by Newcastle United last time out, however, the match was a messy one that saw Jhon Duran being sent off after the half-time break following a stamping incident on Fabian Schar.
Unai Emery accused referee Anthony Taylor of not wasting time on a decision, or even using VAR, on the day when his Villa team was not able to level up and was clearly dominated.
That was Villa fifth straight Premier League away loss, although form at the Villa Park has kept the team in the running for Champions League play.
The only loss Villa have accrued on their home ground in past 14 games is a 2-0 to Arsenal in August while the last three games have all ended in victory.
It is also a very hard team to beat in two consecutive games in the premier league which has only been a record in the last 18 months if you want to fight for the positions above you then you cannot afford to let it happen here.
Villa are down in ninth, but they are only one point behind Newcastle in fifth, a place that could bring Champions League depending on the country coefficient at end of the season.
Brighton are one place even lower in 10th and should expect far more positive outcome than that 1-6 match here in the last season – that is one of their joint worse losses in the premier league.
The Seagulls ended a string of five consecutive losses in this matchup by prevailing 1-0 in the rematch in May, but their recent performance indicates they might find it difficult to repeat the victory.
Despite how well they began the season under Fabian Hurzeler, their current six-game losing streak is their worst in over three years.
Brentford held Brighton to a 0-0 draw on Friday, extending their run even though Brighton had 24 shots in the ninety minutes.
A closer look reveals that Brighton's performance was desperate, as they only created one significant opportunity and had an xG of 1.26, which left them two points behind the group of teams above them, including Villa.
Brighton looked like top-four contenders just over a month ago, but they have only won four of their previous 22 away Premier League games, and if they don't do so again, they might fall into the bottom half going into 2025.
Villa will now be without the Colombian for the next three games after failing to appeal Duran's red card against Newcastle, which could allow Ollie Watkins to make a comeback.
Matty Cash was cautioned at Newcastle and will miss this game, which is the final one before five-yellow-card totalies are no longer penalized.
However, if their single absence, Jacob Ramsey, can recover from a hamstring injury in time for this match, Emery may have a fully-fit team, so there are plenty of choices to replace him.
Hurzeler now has five good alternatives on the right wing after Brighton's 1-1 with Brentford on Friday saw Solly March return after missing 14 months due to an ACL tear.
Hurzeler is certain that Jack Hinshelwood and Ferdi Kadioglu will make a quick return, and Adam Webster is also getting closer to making a comeback following a hamstring injury in October.
