Why Marco Bizot has major point to prove vs Brighton, Aston Villa will rely on him again

Marco Bizot could prove to be one of the most important Aston Villa players on the pitch against Brighton.

The Villans are looking ahead to next Sunday where they will open their Premier League season at the Amex.

It feels like a new era in claret and blue and things will get going against the Seagulls in a week.

There has been plenty of change throughout the summer, a trend that could continue moving forward.

That is why familiar faces need to play a key role and the back-up keeper is one of those.

Bizot is likely to start against Brighton, which will be a boost as he will have the bit between his teeth after his last outing there.

What happened to Marco Bizot last time away to Brighton?

Cast your mind back to December 2025 as the B6 outfit travelled down south on a cold mid-week night.

Unai Emery's side went on to seal a 4-3 victory in the end as Ollie Watkins bagged a brace before Amadou Onana and Donyell Malen netted.

That was massive for the Villans and sparked a real positive atmosphere surrounding the rest of the season.

Things were nearly so different as Jan Paul van Hecke opened the scoring after Bizot came out for a cross and totally missed the ball.

The error led to a goal as he failed to cover himself in glory.

Outside of that he made four saves, but did only manage to prevent 0.19 expected goals as the hosts found the net three times.

That wasn't helped by his 38 per cent long ball accuracy and zero high claims.

Bizot now has a point to prove against Brighton this time around and will surely have the backing of Emery.

Can Aston Villa trust Bizot?

The Spaniard has previously described the 34-year-old as "a fantastic goalkeeper" and "a fantastic guy".

That is high praise coming from Emery and proves how well-liked the keeper is at Bodymoor Heath.

Bizot has worked hard to get that reputation having registered 2.92 saves, 1.08 high claims and 28.31 accurate passes per 90 in his debut Premier League season.

There is proof there that he can be reliable and should have the trust of the B6 faithful.

With all the turbulence surrounding the goalkeeper area at Villa Park right now, the Dutchman is the stable figure that Emery needs and can rely on.