It took a little time for Brighton to build up a head of steam under new boss Roberto De Zerbi, but they have done so in style, recording three straight victories for the first time since August.
That run began with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Chelsea and culminated in a 3-1 cup win over Premier League (PL) leaders Arsenal, a purple patch which lifted Brighton into the top six ahead of the round and secured their place in the League Cup round of 16.
It seems to be a case of all or nothing for Brighton at the AMEX Stadium lately, with the Seagulls either scoring at least four goals or none at all across their last four home outings (W2, D1, L1).
Fans will hope for the former here, although with an almost four-hour wait for a goal in home head-to-head play against Aston Villa, a continuation of their prolific recent form appears unlikely.
It was a dream start to life in the Villa hot seat for Unai Emery as he oversaw an emphatic 3-1 home win over Manchester United in the league before being dumped out of the League Cup in a 4-2 defeat at Old Trafford on Thursday.
With his focus now firmly set on the final PL game ahead of the break, Emery has boldly stated that he wants his new side to play with “the same style and the same capacity” in their away games as at home.
Villa cannot finish their pre-Christmas schedule in the drop zone, but they can consolidate their slender points cushion above it if they can notch a first away league win of the season (D2, L5).
Since scoring an equaliser against Forest in a 1-1 draw during October, Villa have conceded seven unanswered goals in PL away action, but a six-game unbeaten run of away league head-to-heads may serve to inspire confidence (W2, D4).
Players to watch: Kaoru Mitoma (25) has found a new lease of life under De Zerbi, as all of his Brighton goal contributions came during their current three-game winning run (G2, A1).
As for Villa, Jacob Ramsey (21) recorded as many goal contributions in their league win over United (G1, A1) as he did across 21 PL appearances prior.
Hot stat: Brighton and Aston Villa have scored a joint PL-high six goals apiece in the opening 15 minutes of games.
