Aston Villa will be attempting to bounce back after a spotty start to the season, seeing them win and lose in alternating games. They now must contend with an impressive Brighton side, who are on the charge once more.
Aston Villa vs Brighton Betting Tips
- Aston Villa to win @ 6/4 with bet365
- Over 3.5 Aston Villa cards @ 5/4 with bet365
- Moussa Diaby to score or register an assist @ 20/21 with bet365
All odds are courtesy of bet365, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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Villa's velocity can hurt Brighton's backline
Two of the teams with the most interesting playing styles in the Premier League meet at Villa Park on Saturday when Unai Emery's Aston Villa entertain Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton.
Both clubs crashed out of the EFL Cup in midweek, but with European football likely to take its toll on them this term, neither manager will have lost much sleep over it going into this hotly-anticipated contest.
It is an opportunity for Villa to win their tenth Premier League home game in a row and build on a solid road victory at Chelsea last Sunday.
For Brighton, it is a chance to win a third away league game in succession and put one over on opponents who beat them twice last season.
De Zerbi is known as the risk-taker of the two tacticians, but Emery's deployment of a high defensive line has drawn plenty of attention this season.
It should make for an enthralling contest, but Villa's pacier personnel look better suited to exploiting the space behind Brighton's backline than the Seagulls do theirs.
Aston Villa vs Brighton Tip 1: Aston Villa to win @ 6/4 with bet365
Hosts at risk of collecting cautions
Villa's victories over Brighton last season were achieved with significantly less possession than their opponents and many more yellow cards than usual.
The Midlands club averaged 2.1 yellow cards per game in the Premier League last term, but their players collected seven bookings in a 2-1 away win over Brighton last November and four cautions in the May meeting that sealed Villa's qualification for the Europa Conference League.
With Brighton likely to dominate possession again on Saturday, Villa will run the risk of falling foul of the referee when they go hunting the ball.
No Premier League team have seen more yellow cards handed out to their opponents than Brighton since the start of last season, 110 of them in 44 games to be precise.
Aston Villa vs Brighton Tip 2: Over 3.5 Aston Villa cards @ 5/4 with bet365
Seagulls must beware dangerous Diaby
Summer signing Moussa Diaby got off to a flying start in the Premier League with two goals in his first three appearances, but he has since failed to notch.
However, the Frenchman has been to the fore when it comes to creating chances with only three players in the league ahead of him for expected assisted goals (xAG) — Mohamed Salah, Pervis Estupinan and Bruno Fernandes.
This metric measures the expected goals value of a shot that is assisted and gives a clearer idea of how many assists a player should have, given the quality of their attacking output.
Aston Villa vs Brighton Tip 3: Moussa Diaby to score or register an assist @ 20/21 with bet365