Villa travel down to the AMEX Staduim for a crucial game against a Brighton side that are also in poor form.
I spoke to Albion Obsessed to find out a little bit more about the Brighton side including their season so far, the importance of Yves Bissouma and their recent form.
UTV PODCAST X ALBION OBSESSED
Brighton are having a great season, sitting in 9th place and not too far off the European spots, how would you sum up your season so far?
Our season so far has been a bit of a dream, really. Last season we had performances that showed what team we could be if we finished our chances and things have finally come together. We’ve had to ride our luck a little bit with a good few last minute winners/equalisers but that just goes to show the improvement in mentality in this Brighton side.
Albion Obsessed
Yves Bissouma was heavily linked with a move away from the Amex to Villa Park in January, just how good is Bissouma and how important has he been to your season so far?
Biss is dubbed one of the best midfielders in the league by us Albion fans, but also by his midfield rivals such as Declan Rice and opposition fans. If Villa want to go back in for him in the summer they will have a lot of competition for the Mali man’s signature! He’s one of the best to have pulled on an Albion shirt, and I mentioned on the Talk of the Trinity podcast that although we’d be sad to see him leave, he deserves to be playing at the highest level possible so we hope if he goes anywhere it’s a champions league club!
Albion Obsessed
In your last game you fell to a 3-0 defeat to Burnley which added to a run of form which has saw just one win in seven matches, is there something specific that’s going wrong or is it just a rough patch?
Fans are so quick to overreact, as you say only 1 win in 7, but yeah it’s just a rough patch. Our home form has been nothing short of underwhelming this season so we are hoping on Saturday we can get back to winning ways. The players have been brought back down to earth and it’s now time for us to see what they’re really made of.
Albion Obsessed
Finally what’s your score predictions?
It’s a tough one. As I say, we need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible but Villa are also on the back of a disappointing result so we have two teams looking for a reaction. I’d have to sit on the fence and say 2-2.
Albion Obsessed
FORM GUIDE
INSIGHT INTO THE OPPOSITION | Graham Potter
Graham Potter has a unique and creative style of play, but how effective is it?
Well, the first thing I wanted to look at was just how good has Potter been at his other clubs. Potter started his managerial career at a Swedish football club called Östersunds FK where he spent eight years, joining the club in 2011 they were in the fourth tier of Swedish football.
By 2015 Graham Potter had took the club all the way to the top flight, in his penultimate year at the club they won the Svenska Cup which booked his team a place in the Europa League second qualifying round. The underdogs went on to beat Galatasaray, Fola Esch and PAOK which meant they secured a place in the group stages for the first time in the clubs history, going onto finishing second in the group, level on points with Athletic Bilbao. The side were knocked out by Arsenal despite winning the away leg 2-1.
During his time in Sweden, Potter managed 249 games, winning 127 of them, holding a very impressive 51% win percentage.
Potter’s move back to England came in the form of the Swansea job, who had just been relegated the season prior, it was very much a case of stabilising the club.
He did exactly that, guiding Swansea to a tenth place finish. During his time at Swansea, Potter won 21 of his 51 games at Swansea which meant he recorded another impressive win percentage of 41.2%. While at Swansea Potter helped bring in a number of key players which made a huge impact on Swansea.
After just under a year at Swansea, Graham Potter made his move to the Premier League under Brighton. Although the win percentage (27.8%) isn’t as good as it was at Östersunds and Swansea, what has has achieved at Brighton is no less impressive, he has built a stable Premier League side who could go onto provide a push for Europe in the not to distant future.
Potter has developed a unique style of play that involves a heavy focus on possession and making chances through creative passing, and what is admirable about Potter is that he has kept faith in his philosophy everywhere he has gone.
Potter is a manager that believes in his style of play, and won’t accept his players failing to implement it. He is one of the most underrated managers in the league and maybe even the world, Brighton are very fortunate to have him.
OPPOSTION | Team News
Adam Webster could make a return to the squad having missed the Burnley game after picking up a knock against Manchester United.
Enock Mwepu and Jeremy Sarmiento are both likely to miss out on the Villa game with hamstring injuries. Lewis Dunk can come back after sitting out he Burnley game due to a suspension.
PREMIER LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD
THE LAST THREE
LAST TIME AT THE AMEX
Brighton 0-0 Aston Villa
Brighton came into this game with the chance to go undefeated in six in the top flight for the first time since 1981, plus the prospect of a third home clean sheet in a row.
Brighton started the game very much on the front foot with a sustained period of pressure which resulted in MacAllister’s header flying over the crossbar. Dan Burn’s lofted ball skipped both teams’ midfield and landed at the feet of Veltman who dribbled past the Villa defence but his long-shot caused little problems for Martinez in goal. Brighton had yet another chance as Trossard’s shot from the edge of the box forced Martinez into making a crucial save to keep the game goalless.
Martinez was again called into action as a Brighton corner caused Villa several problems a Dan Burn’s header forcing another save from the Argentine. Villa’s first chance in the game fell in the second half, Barkley’s timid shot rolled into the hands of Sanchez. It was Brighton’s turn to attack once again as the ball fell to MacAllister whose shot was met by the diving Martinez.
Brighton continued to keep possession around the Villa box patiently waiting to craft a chance and that is exactly what they did with a Veltman shot from distance and Emi Martinez was once again there to stop the shot from his hitting the back of the net.
Maupay then lost his footing after an impressive dribble through the Villa defence and appealed for the penalty despite knowing fully well Mings had not fouled him.
Adam Lallana’s cross was met with a weak shot from Welbeck which made it awkward for Martinez to save but somehow he managed to make it adding to his list of impressive saves in this game. Somehow Villa managed to hold on to the draw thanks to an immaculate performance from Martinez who showed why he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
MY PREDICTION
Both teams come into this game in a poor run of form and will be desperate to come out of the game with three points but I can’t see either side achieving it. I can see this resulting in a 1-1 draw with Maupay getting his customary goal goal against us and Konsa welcoming his return back to the squad following his suspension with a goal to earn Villa a point.
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