Aston Villa predicted XI vs Brighton: Emery ditches experiment, pre-season regular benched
Aston Villa are gearing up to kick off their 2026-2027 season away against Brighton.
Unai Emery has plenty of new faces at his disposal this weekend but will also be without many of last season's regulars.
The Villans will want to start the season as strongly as possible, as the competition for those European places is assuredly set to be tough.
The supercomputer has shared Aston Villa's predicted final finish, proving that will likely be the case.
Pre-season has not gone the greatest for the B6 side, who have won just three out of their eight pre-Premier League matches.
And here is the line-up we at Villa News believe the Spaniard will use at the AMEX Stadium on Sunday.
Will Zion Suzuki start in goal vs Brighton?
As stated, Villa have many new signings gearing up for their Premier League debut under Emery.
One of the biggest questions will be if Zion Suzuki is put straight into net for the opening game of the season.
With Emi Martinez not appearing in pre-season, and having an uncertain future, the Japanese international will likely start.
David Ornstein has shared that no matter what happens with Martinez, Suzuki will be Emery's new number one.
So the Villa faithful are likely to catch their first glimpse of the new goalkeeper this weekend.
For the rest of the defence, it will likely resemble something close to what was seen versus PSG, but with Matteo Ruggeri in place of Ian Maatsen at left-back.
Lamar Bogarde did start out of position at left-back against Borussia Monchegladbach, but with more options now available, he will surely ditch that experiment.
Matty Cash could start at right-back, with Pau Torres and Victor Lindelof the centre-back duo.
How does Unai Emery solve his striker problem?
In the midfield and attack, the options for Emery certainly get more interesting.
Joao Gomes is ruled out through injury, leaving Boubacar Kamara and Ross Barkley to form a midfield two.
Out on the wings, Alejandro Garnacho returns on the left after missing the last two fixtures through concussion, with John McGinn out on the right.
Emi Buendia will be deployed behind the striker, but who that may remains up in the air.
Ideally, after no pre-season, Emery would not want to put Ollie Watkins straight into the side.
However, while we are waiting to hear news on the injury Tammy Abraham picked up against Borussia Monchengladbach, and with Brian Madjo confirmed out, there is some thinking required.
So, Watkins may be forced to start from the beginning.
Unfortunately, there is no room for George Hemmings, who has emerged as a star during pre-season.
But he should be included on the bench and it would not be a shock to see him get minutes.
Why Aston Villa will have confidence vs Brighton
Fabian Hurzeler will not be looking forward to playing Aston Villa.
In four Premier League games against the German coach, Villa have not lost one, with three wins and one draw.
Additionally, Villa are Brighton's second worst opponents in the Premier League, with a 64 per cent loss rate.
Only against Manchester City (67 per cent) have they lost more games by percentage.