Aston Villa vs Brighton pre match thread - SATURDAY 3pm

[Hookeysmith]

I am sure i saw this was on BT sport - is it still PPV or free?

[Risso]

Brighton must be the only Premier League team that seems to have precisely zero internationals. I think they are pretty underrated, was impressed when I saw them last season.

Will take any sort of scrappy win, please.

Trossard has been getting in the Belgium team I think, and Connolly plays for Ireland.

[Proposition Joe]

I fear this game is coming 28 hours and 15 minutes too early.

I agree, 3pm on a Saturday is a ridiculous time for a game of football to be played.  Hopefully we can revert to our more traditional Sunday evening slot soon.

100%. Sunday evening is the Villa Slot.

[in exile]

I am sure i saw this was on BT sport - is it still PPV or free?

It's part of your BT Sport subscription.
There are no more PPV/Box Office games anymore, as I understand it.

[TaxDodger]

If Chelsea fail to win at Newcastle in the early kick off then we go top with a win, at least for a few hours, which would be most exciting.

[Lastfootstamper]

I am sure i saw this was on BT sport - is it still PPV or free?

Can people stop describing paid subscription telly as 'free'!

[Lsvilla]

I know stats and all that but these are no mugs - 5th best PL team on expected goals I read somewhere - suggests either they can’t finish or our defence will be tested a la Leeds / Southampton. Hope all our travelling internationals come back fit and ready and we can get on the front foot early - should then have enough for them.

[Toronto Villa]

Those stats mean nothing at all if they cannot finish. Not being able to score and not being able to defend leads to bad things usually at any level let alone PL level. That's why they are 5th from bottom of the table that actually matters. Not saying we should take them lightly because they clearly create chances, so we will need to be sharp. But so far, we have created chances, scored from a number of them and kept 4 clean sheets this season. I'd rather we focused on that.

[Lsvilla]

Agreed. Just wouldn’t want to start slowly and go behind. We’ve not been able to turn such a scenario around yet (I know we did it against these last year). Trying not to be over-confident going into a game we should expect to win.

[paul_e]

Even if you think the stats are useful the post above is wrong.

They're 9th on xG and it's almost exactly the same as the number they've actually scored. We're 6th and if you account for the game in hand we'd be 3rd.

Where Brighton are 5th is xGA (goals against) but we're above them in 3rd on that as well.

That suggests the sensible betting would be on something like 1-0 or 2-1 to us.

[Lsvilla]

Even if you think the stats are useful the post above is wrong.

They're 9th on xG and it's almost exactly the same as the number they've actually scored. We're 6th and if you account for the game in hand we'd be 3rd.

Where Brighton are 5th is xGA (goals against) but we're above them in 3rd on that as well.

That suggests the sensible betting would be on something like 1-0 or 2-1 to us.

I like people who do detail better than me. And I’d take either of those outcomes.

[manic-road]

We haven't had a draw yet so 1-1.

[Bobby Boy]

Whichever team scores first will win. Them's the rules.

So we'd better score first.

2-1 Villa.

[saunders_heroes]

4-0 to the Villa.

[PaulWinch again]

I think this is a tricky game.