Credit: Imago

Josh Edwards

Wed 2 April 2025 18:37, UK

Unai Emery has named his Aston Villa starting lineup for their Premier League clash with Brighton.

For the first time since their 1-0 win over Brentford at the start of March, Aston Villa return to Premier League action with an away encounter against Brighton.

Emery’s side enter the game as the underdogs, though they should have more than enough quality to seal all three points and continue their push for Champions League qualification

With that in mind, Emery has made two changes, and he may be forced to regret one decision he has made come the end of the 90 minutes.

Aston Villa make two changes for Brighton clash.

Emery opted for a strong lineup against Preston, so its not much of a surprise to see so few changes made for their return to Premier League action.

Emi Martinez keeps his place in goal, having been called into making just one save against the Championship side [FotMob], with one change in front of him.

Ezri Konsa starts in the heart of defence, after recording a remarkable 98 per cent pass accuracy in the Preston win, with Pau Torres partnering him and Tyrone Mings dropping out.

A full back pairing of Matty Cash and Lucas Digne will be utilised at the Amex, with the latter registering two assists from three chances created last time out.

Youri Tielemans can offer much more than he showed v Preston

Youri Tielmans starts in midfield, and while he was far from poor in the FA Cup clash, he certainly has more to offer than was on show. The Belgian completed 91 per cent of his 45 attempted passes in the game, but failed to contribute awfully much at either end of the pitch.

Boubacar Kamara starts alongside him, in what may be a decision Emery regrets come the end of the game, with the Frenchman winning just 25 per cent of his 16 ground duels last time out, and with the intensity expected against Brighton, that could prove costly if replicated.

Kamara’s overall performance was more than solid against the Championship outfit, but the one concern could prove to be the difference maker tonight.

The front four is made up of Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, John McGinn and Marcus Rashford, providing the Villans with more than enough firepower to secure a win.

Rashford scored twice against Preston from an xG of just 1.48, failing to hit the target with just one of his five shots, and will be looking to find that form yet again in the Premier League.

McGinn comes into the team in place of Marco Asensio who drops to the bench.