Both Brighton and Aston Villa have hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and this should be a beauty of a game at the Amex on Wednesday.
WATCH –Brighton v Aston Villa
Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton are smarting after losing their FA Cup quarterfinal at home to Nottingham Forest on penalty kicks, as the Seagulls were defeated on Saturday after a bruising 120 minutes. Still, Brighton have recovered really well after a mid-season wobble and are within a few points of the Champions League spots heading into the final stretch. They would have taken that at the start of the season and are on a run of four wins from their last five in the Premier League.
Villa are flying in three competitions under Unai Emery as they’re in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals (against his former club PSG), have reached the FA Cup semifinals after winning at Preston on Sunday and are back in the hunt to finish in the top four of the Premier League. Two wins in a row in the league has seen them stay among the pack of teams hunting for Champions League qualification and Villa now have so many attacking options after a busy January.
How to watch Brighton vs Aston Villa live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 2:45pm ET Wednesday (April 2)
Venue: Amex Stadium — Falmer
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Premier League on Peacock
Brighton team news, focus
There are plenty of key players missing for Brighton which makes their recent resurgence even more impressive. The Seagulls will start Joao Pedro up top with Mitoma and Minteh likely to start out wide, although Rutter did come off with an injury at the weekend. That could mean Welbeck keeps his spot with Joao Pedro playing just behind him.
OUT: Tariq Lamptey (ankle), Igor Julio (hamstring), Jason Steele (shoulder), James Milner (thigh), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), Adam Webster (thigh), Mats Wieffer (unknown) | QUESTIONABLE: Matthew O’Riley (knee), Solly March (undisclosed), Joel Veltman (ankle), Georginio Rutter (ankle)
Aston Villa team news, focus
Villa continue to rotate their team impressively with Rashford playing up top as a No. 9 at the weekend and he scored twice against Preston. Rogers, Ramsey, Bailey, Asensio, Malen and Watkins are all pushing for starts, with Watkins likely to start up top at Brighton and Rashford playing on the left. The likes of McGinn and Onana could come in to midfield too.
OUT: Ross Barkley (calf) | QUESTIONABLE: Ollie Watkins (knee)
Brighton vs Aston Villa prediction
This should be a fun game with chances galore as Brighton love to press high and commit players forward but Villa are clinical on the counter. Expect goals and Villa’s extra attacking options to make the difference. Brighton 2-3 Aston Villa.