Aston Villa heads into the final stretch of the season, starting with a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night, at near full fitness. We’ll skip the team news for this one, and just move on to the starting XI prediction pretty quickly. Why? Other than Ross Barkley, AVFC are at full fitness.
Said Villa manager Unai Emery on Friday, ahead of the FA Cup quarterfinal win over Preston North End: “I think the only player not available, ruled out for tomorrow, is Barkley.”
Aston Villa at Brighton & Hove Albion FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. April 2, 7:45pm, Falmer Stadium, Falmer, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England.
Result Probability via Google: Aston Villa 28% Draw 25% Brighton & Hove Albion 46%
Premier League Standing: Aston Villa 9th, 45 points Brighton & Hove Albion 7th, 47 points
Premier League Form: Aston Villa DDWLW Brighton & Hove Albion WWWWD
And to be honest, Ross Barkley doesn’t play much of a role for Aston Villa anyway. So without further ado, let’s get to the starting lineup prediction.
Aston Villa Starting Lineup Prediction at Brighton & Hove Albion
Emi Martinez; Axel Disasi, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne; John McGinn, Youri Tielemans; Leon Bailey, Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford; Ollie Watkins
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.