Aston Villa are set to make the trip to England’s south coast on Sunday afternoon, eyeing a return to winning ways at the expense of high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Villans, of course, are fresh off a pair of meetings with Manchester United over the course of the last week.
After being utterly taken apart by Newcastle the week prior, Villa, under the watch of new boss Unai Emery, bounced back in impressive fashion last weekend, in putting top-4 chasing United to the sword by three goals to one.
This, however, was followed by defeat at the hands of the Red Devils in midweek, as a 2nd-half lead was ultimately surrendered so send the Claret and Blue crashing out of the Carabao Cup.
Safe to say, then, that plenty of work remains to be done, amid the efforts of Emery and co. to guide Villa further clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
Starting with Sunday, though, who is expected to be at the disposal of the club’s new head coach? And, perhaps even more importantly, who will not?
📰 Table Of Contents
Predicted Aston Villa line-up vs Brighton
Absentee/doubt list
Philippe Coutinho
One of just two guaranteed absentees from Aston Villa’s travelling squad bound for the Amex Stadium will be Philippe Coutinho.
Midfielder Coutinho was a surprise omission from Unai Emery’s maiden Villans squad last weekend, owing to what was later revealed to be a quad injury.
And, in the days since, the extent of the 30-year-old’s concern was confirmed, with Coutinho ruled out for not only this weekend, but Brazil’s World Cup adventure, too.
Diego Carlos
Another of Villa’s Brazilian contingent set to miss out on Sunday afternoon, of course, comes in the form of Diego Carlos.
The summer arrival in Aston managed just two appearances in the colours of his new club, before rupturing his Achilles tendon back in mid-August.
Carlos, as a result, remains some way from a return to competitive action.
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