Ninth hosts 10th in the Premier League this Monday when Brighton & Hove Albion travel north to face Aston Villa.
The visitors will be reeling from a bruising defeat on Boxing Day, while Brighton's lengthy winless run continued in frustrating fashion a day later.
Match preview
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Villa were resoundingly beaten 3-0 away to Newcastle United last time out, but it was a game shrouded in controversy, when Jhon Duran was sent off in the first half for an alleged stamp on Fabian Schar.
Unai Emery was critical of referee Anthony Taylor for not taking his time over the decision, or even having another look with VAR, on an afternoon where his Villa side were unable to recover, and were comfortably put to the sword.
That was Villa's fifth successive Premier League away defeat, with form at Villa Park the only thing keeping them in the hunt for the Champions League places.
A 2-0 loss to Arsenal in August is the only defeat Villa have suffered at home in 14 matches, and the last three have all ended in victory.
It is also rare for them to lose back-to-back games in the Premier League, considering it has only happened once in 18 months, and if they want to close the gap on those above them, they must ensure it does not happen here.
Villa are down in ninth, but are just one point off Newcastle in fifth, a position that could seal Champions League qualification depending on the nation's coefficient at the end of the season.
Brighton are one place further back in 10th and will hope for much better fortunes compared to the 6-1 thrashing they suffered here last season - still their joint-heaviest Premier League defeat.
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The Seagulls made amends by winning 1-0 in the reverse in May, ending a run of five straight defeats in this fixture, but recent form suggests they may struggle to repeat the feat.
Six games without a win is now their worst run of form in almost three years, and in stark contrast to how well they started the campaign under Fabian Hurzeler.
That streak was extended on Friday when Brighton were held to a 0-0 draw by Brentford despite registering 24 shots throughout the 90 minutes.
Digging deeper shows that the performance smacked of desperation though, as Brighton only managed to create one big chance, and an xG of just 1.26, leaving them two points off the cluster of teams above them, one of which is Villa.
With just four wins in their last 22 Premier League away games though, failure to do so again could see Brighton drop into the bottom half heading into 2025, when they looked like top-four candidates just over a month ago.
Team News
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Despite appealing against Duran's red card against Newcastle, Villa were unsuccessful, so will now be without the Colombian for the next three games, leaving the door open for Ollie Watkins to return.
With just one more game to go until five-yellow-card tallies are no longer punished, Matty Cash will miss this game after he was cautioned at Newcastle.
There are no shortage of options to replace him though, because Emery may have a fully-fit squad if their only absentee Jacob Ramsey is able to recover from a hamstring issue in time for this one.
Brighton were able to welcome back Solly March after 14 months out with an ACL rupture in the draw with Brentford on Friday, meaning Hurzeler now has five capable options on the right-wing.
Hurzeler is confident Ferdi Kadioglu and Jack Hinshelwood will return imminently, while Adam Webster is also edging closer to a comeback after suffering a hamstring injury back in October.
James Milner remains out for the visitors, and Danny Welbeck is likely to join him, with the veteran striker struggling to recover from an ankle problem, so the Brighton boss will hope Evan Ferguson is able to get over a knock that ruled him out on Friday.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Digne; McGinn, Kamara, Onana, Tielemans, Rogers; Watkins
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; O'Riley, Baleba; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Joao Pedro
We say: Aston Villa 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Villa are brilliant at home and Brighton are in the middle of a slump, having gone six games without a win, so this is not the venue they would have liked to visit next, considering the hosts have only lost one in 14 at Villa Park.
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Andrew Delaney
