Aston Villa will aim to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they host Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday.
Villa were held to a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Saturday, leaving them nine points behind leaders Arsenal.
Brighton lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace, their eighth league defeat this season.
Match preview
Villa’s title aspirations have derailed in recent weeks, with the club picking up just eight points from their last six outings.
Unai Emery’s side have struggled at both ends of the pitch. They have failed to score in three of their last five league games and have kept two clean sheets within that period.
Villa have lost their last two league home games, after being unbeaten in their previous eight.
They could have dropped to fourth place before kick-off, making this a must-win game.
Brighton are also struggling for form, recording one win since the start of December.
The visitors have also picked up just two wins on the road this term and have won just two of their previous 13 Premier League meetings with Villa.
Team news
Villa are still without the midfield quartet of Ross Barkley, John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans. Andres Garcia is also on the treatment table.
Diego Gomez, Solly March, Stefanos Tzimas, Mats Wielder and Adam Webster are sidelined for Brighton. Yasin Ayari is doubtful.
Predicted line-ups
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen, Douglas Luiz, Amadou Onana, Jadon Sancho, Morgan Rogers, Emi Buendia, Tammy Abraham.
Brighton (4-3-3): Bart Verbruggen, Maxim De Cuyper, Lewis Dunk, Jan Paul van Hecke, Ferdi Kadioglu, Pascal Groß, Carlos Baleba, James Milner, Kaoru Mitoma, Danny Welbeck, Yankuba Minteh.
Prediction
We expect Villa to win 2-1.
Stats from transfermarkt.com & who scored.com.
