Latest injury news ahead of Aston Villa vs Brighton.placeholder image
Latest injury news ahead of Aston Villa vs Brighton. | Getty Images
Aston Villa face Brighton & Hove Albion next up at Villa Park on Wednesday night
This week sees the return of midweek Premier League football as clubs across the division take to the field under the lights in the hope of getting some extra points on the board ahead of FA Cup fourth round weekend.
Aston Villa host Brighton & Hove Albion at Villa Park on Wednesday night and will hope to get back to winning ways against their out-of-form opponents. Villa have won just one of their last five matches in the league, while Albion have won just one in 11 Premier League fixtures to drop to 14th in the table, a run which began with a 4-3 defeat to Villa in the reverse fixture.
Both Villa and Brighton are set to be without several first-team players on Wednesday night, and we had a look at the latest team news.
Aston Villa injury news vs Brighton
Starting with Unai Emery’s side, Villa have five players out with injury at present and are not anticipating any returnees to face the Seagulls.
Midfielder Boubacar Kamara is out for the season with a knee injury, while Youri Tielemans and John McGinn are both expected not to return until April with ankle and knee issues, respectively. These key absentees in the middle of the park led to Villa re-signing former player Douglas Luiz on loan from Juventus in the January transfer window.
Fellow January signing Alysson has yet to make his Villa debut due to a knee problem. Emery confirmed that the Brazilian is “coming back progressively” but is not expected to be back in time to make his Premier League debut against the Seagulls. Full-back Andres Garcia is also out with a hamstring injury, which the Villans boss confirmed would see him sit out for three weeks until late February.
The West Midlands outfit were boosted by the returns of Ollie Watkins and Amadou Onana to the starting XI in the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth last time out, while Ross Barkley appeared off the bench for his first action since November.
Brighton injury news vs Aston Villa
Brighton have a lengthy injury list of their own at present but will be hoping for the return of Jan Paul van Hecke to face Villa in midweek. The Dutchman missed out against Palace with a minor hamstring strain, described as “precautionary” by head coach Hurzeler.
Asked about Van Hecke’s chance of playing at Villa, the German told reporters: “I hope so, yes.”
Yasin Ayari suffered a shoulder injury against Everton in late January and is expected to remain out for this one, alongside Mats Weiffer, who is thought to be closer to returning after spending the last seven matches out with a foot injury. Solly March has also been ruled out of the last four with a knee issue.
Brighton currently have two long-term absentees, in the shape of Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas. Both players are out with ACL injuries and are expected to remain out of action for the remainder of the season.
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