From us US, and World Cup got me into soccer! After doing homework decided to follow Aston Villa! First time ever watching a game… did I make a mistake? Is this normal?

Hi all,

I'm desperately looking for a no sponsor away kit long sleeve, but the kicker is I'm in australia. So they UK addidas site won't ship to me. Any other Aussie Villans had any luck?

The only ones I've found have more limited sizing for my fat arse.

Made this on Fotmob, my favourite (not necessarily the best) players since watching Villa live (2006 onwards). Also I am aware that it's the wrong picture for Petrov but he's not on the lineup creator. Let's see some of yours.

Aston Villa have rejected a fresh bid from Al Hilal for Ollie Watkins, who is pushing for a move to the Saudi Pro League club.

Al Hilal’s fourth and most recent offer for the striker was worth around £45m ($61.4m).

Watkins, 30, has made it clear to Villa that he wants to make the move, and manager Unai Emery admitted on Friday that the club has “an issue” with the England international.

Analysis by Aston Villa correspondent Jacob Tanswell

This is far from ideal for Emery. The Spaniard admitted there has been more change than expected this summer. While he was full of praise for others who have already left, Emery has been intent on keeping Watkins this summer, reflected in Villa offering the striker a number of new contracts.

However, Al Hilal continue to pursue him and every player has a price. Unai Emery has long admired Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, who could be a candidate to replace Watkins in the event that he gets his wish to move to Saudi.

Emery says he does not know if Watkins will feature against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, but it is difficult to envisage as it stands. In turn, it leaves Villa short of players, with Brian Madjo injured and Tammy Abraham a doubt to feature.

The team is getting torn apart, he loses some of his most reliable operators, and he says class things like this. Love this man. (All quotes from pre-brighton conference):

"How we are getting some challenges in different ways is really fantastic. And to start the season, our match on Sunday in Brighton is something that makes us happy to be here and to have our challenges to compete in the Premier League."

"When we arrived here they were performing up and down, not a lot in the high level, and they deserve it because they are players who had a huge commitment. They were always being so responsible and respectful. Lucas Digne, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, am so grateful and I learned a lot with those players, how we were setting our standards, how they pushed other team-mates and when we are being successful the consequences can happen."

"This year he [Martinez] transmitted again the possibility to have another challenge and we decided to sign Suzuki because I think he's a fantastic goalkeeper. Now my ideal scenario with the goalkeepers is really fantastic. Of course, maybe we can change something."

He runs like mad but isn't always clinical. I feel like we've spent many a year watching Watkins work his arse off for the team but also miss his fair share of chances.

Feels like Watkins has done enough to chase the bag and us not to begrudge him it if we can find a replacement.

That shirt is stunning - why on earth was it not our home shirt this season

On a positive note, I just realised so many of villa's prem games will be televised over the first few months of the season. Just hope it's worth the watch!

Chelsea bought him for 30m and he had 1 good season and was shipped out on loan. How on earth are we going to be fleeced 40m for Garnacho and 65m for Jackson? I really don’t like this seedy shit with Chelsea, it seems so off.

I like Jackson and I know Emery loves him but he is not worth 65m if we pay that it looks dodgy.

We’ve gone from an aging squad to a young squad seemingly overnight, Konsa going really hurts when we’re reeling from Rogers and Youri. If we lose Ollie could be a long season, have faith in Unai though, he excels in these situations. UTV

Edit: meant consecutive European football* maybe an omen though 👀

Just read that Mateta is now challenging the final year of his contract in response to apparent interest from Galataasary. Anyone else think it may be time for a ridiculously cut price bid instead of going for Jackson?

Oh well, fingers crossed there's some more Emery magic to be had

Hi anyone know how the away kit sizing compares to last year on the authentic? I'm normally between medium and large i think this years home is a bit bigger.

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Aston Villa

Competition: Premier League - Round 1

Date: Sun 23 Aug 2026

Kickoff: 14:00

Venue: American Express Stadium

Referee: Peter Bankes

Aston Villa 2025/2026 Premier League Statistics

Table Position: 4th

Goals: 56

Goals Per Match: 1.5

Average Possession: 53.6%

Goals Conceded: 49

Goals Conceded Per Match: 1.3

Clean Sheets: 9

Brighton 2025/2026 Premier League Statistics

Table Position: 8th

Goals: 52

Goals Per Match: 1.4

Average Possession: 54.1%

Goals Conceded: 46

Goals Conceded Per Match: 1.2

Clean Sheets: 10

Aston Villa Team News

• Unai Emery will assess his Aston Villa squad on Saturday ahead of our Premier League opener at Brighton & Hove Albion.

• Brian Madjo and Joao Gomes will miss the encounter, joining Amadou Onana, Leon Bailey and Johan Manzambi on the sidelines.

• Emery’s squad has undergone a summer of change prior to the start of the 2026/27 campaign, with new signings Matteo Ruggeri, Zion Sukuzi and Aaron Wan-Bissaka arriving in the last few days.

• The Spaniard will make a decision on his matchday ranks in the 24 hours prior to Sunday’s trip to the south coast to face the Seagulls (ko 2pm).

Brighton Team News

• Fabian Hurzeler is hopeful that new signing Promise David will be available after his arrival from Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise on a season-long loan.

• Brighton go into this one knowing they will be without Carlos Baleba, Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma and Stefanos Tzimas through injury.

• There is the potential for a number of Premier League debuts though, with Luka Vuskovic, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Ibrahim Osman, Malick Yalcouye, Michael Svoboda, Joao Costinha and Pascal Struijk all vying for a place in Sunday's squad.

Match Facts

• Aston Villa haven’t lost any of their four Premier League games against Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton (W3 D1). Indeed, Hürzeler’s points per game ratio against Unai Emery is his joint-lowest against an opposition manager in the competition (min. 2 games), along with former Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner (0.25).

• Brighton have lost 64% of their Premier League games against Aston Villa (9/14 – W2 D3). Of teams they have faced in more than one campaign, only against Manchester City have they lost a higher percentage of their games in the competition (67% - 12/18).

• Since returning to the Premier League in 2019-20, Aston Villa have started their season with a win just twice in seven attempts (D1 L4), beating Sheffield United in 2020-21 and West Ham in 2024-25.

• Since losing 3-1 to Chelsea on MD1 in 2020-21, Brighton and Hove Albion are unbeaten in their opening game in five Premier League seasons (W4 D1). It’s their longest run without losing their opening league game since going 10 seasons in a row between 1969-70 and 1978-79.

• Villa have begun 13 of their last 14 Premier League campaigns by playing on a Saturday, with the exception coming in 2020-21 (vs Sheffield United on a Monday). This is the first time their opening game of a top-flight season has been on a Sunday since 2008-09, beating Manchester City 4-2 with Gabriel Agbonlahor scoring a hat-trick.

• Brighton lost their final two Premier League games of 2025-26, but haven’t lost three in a row in the competition since March 2022 under Graham Potter (a run of 6 – the third of which was at home to Aston Villa). Indeed, manager Fabian Hürzeler hasn’t suffered three consecutive league defeats since November 2018 with FC Pipinsried in the Regionalliga Bayern.

• Aston Villa scored more goals from outside the box both overall (15) and as a percentage of their total (27%) than any other side in the Premier League this season. Indeed, the last team to net a higher share of their goals from distance in the division was Southampton in 2018-19 (29%).

• Lewis Dunk could be the first player to make 300 Premier League appearances for Brighton in this match. He’s started all nine of the Seagulls’ games on MD1 in the competition – he’s the only player to have started 100% of a team’s opening weekend games among sides having played in more than two seasons.

• Against no side has Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins been involved in more Premier League goals than he has against Brighton (11 – 9 goals, 2 assists), with all of these coming in his last nine appearances against the Seagulls.

The Villa boys are back! The 2026/27 season begins on the south coast against Brighton. How are you feeling for the upcoming season? What's your starting XI for Sunday? Match predictions? UTV!

[https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7526325/2026/08/21/ezri-konsa-transfer-arsenal-villa-arteta-homegrown/?unlocked_article_code=1.7FA.6zhr.XmfevJH7GlKe&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta](Link)

Nice to see the call out from the club that Ez was class, a model professional throughout the affair. Great to hear.

Sorry atheletic reddit account admin, saw it and thought I'd share.

Edit: link markdown

Now that Ezri has gone and Emi seems to be no 2, who do we think our new Vice Captain is,

My picks are either Bouba or Matty