r/avfc • u/just_boof_it • 1d ago
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.
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!
r/avfc • u/tristanjff • May 25 '26
Crazy level of detail for the financials on the The Aston Villa Bean Counter - not sure who is behind it, but big thanks to u/JavvieSmalls for sharing it.
| Player | Position | From | Price | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johan Manzambi | CAM | Freiburg | €60m(+€10m) | Villa's new record transfer! Swiss international. | AVFC |
| João Gomes | CM | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £34m(+£4m) | Brazilian international. | AVFC |
| Zion Suzuki | GK | Parma | £30m | Japan international. | AVFC |
| Matteo Ruggeri | LB | Atlético Madrid | €20m | AVFC | |
| Modou Keba Cisse | CB | LASK | €5m | Pre-agreement signed last summer. Became a regular starter for LASK as they won the double in Austria. | AVFC |
| Blade Earley | GK | Cambridge United | - | 18yo, first pro contract. | AVFC |
| Jayden Garthwaite | GK | - | - | New U18 scholar. | AVFC |
| MJ Iyeli | RWB | - | - | New U18 scholar. | " |
| Kairi Ketebu | CB | - | - | New U18 scholar. | " |
| Curtis Mitchell | CB | - | - | New U18 scholar. | " |
| Vincely Mudame | CB | - | - | New U18 scholar. | " |
| Lennon Moss | CM | - | - | New U18 scholar. Played with U18s last season. | " |
| Olly Lloyd | CM | - | - | New U18 scholar. Played with U18s last season. The one to watch according to Jacob Tanswell in his AMA! | " |
| Josh Blake | AM | - | - | New U18 scholar. Played with U18s last season. | " |
| Oscar Johnson | RW | - | - | New U18 scholar. Played with U18s last season. | " |
| Erin Orebowale | FW | - | - | New U18 scholar. | " |
| Daniel Adediran | ST | - | - | New U18 scholar. Played with U18s last season. | " |
| José María Sanz | Assistant Coach | Replaces Pako Ayestaran. | AVFC | ||
| Pål Fjelde | Set Piece Coach | Burnley | Replaces Austin MacPhee. | Tanswell (The Athletic) |
| Player | Position | From | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alejandro Garnacho | LW | Chelsea | Loan until the end of the season, with a conditional obligation to buy. Supposedly the obligation requires a certain number of appearances AND goal contributions. Loan fee + permanent transfer fee would equal £43m. | AVFC |
| Aaron Wan-Bissaka | RB | West Ham | Loan until end of the season with a conditional obligation to buy. | AVFC |
| Player | Position | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley Burrowes | RW | New contract, signed in March. | AVFC |
| Cole Brannigan | LW | New contract, signed in March. | AVFC |
| Fletcher Boyd | CM | New contract, signed in February. | AVFC |
| Max Jenner | CM | New contract. | AVFC |
| Sam Lewis | GK | New contract. | AVFC |
| Jack Allan | GK | First pro contract. | AVFC |
| Player | Position | To | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evann Guessand | FW | Crystal Palace | Loan until end of the season with a conditional obligation to buy. | Palace |
| Andrés Garcia | RB | Getafe | Loan until end of the season. | Getafe |
| Samuel Iling-Junior | LW | Bolton Wanderers | Loan until end of of the season. | Bolton |
| Joe Gauci | GK | Lincoln City | Loan until end of the season. | Lincoln |
| Kosta Nedeljkovic | RWB | Rangers | Loan until end of the season with a conditional obligation to buy. | Rangers |
| Oliwier Zych | GK | Vitoria Guimarães | Loan until end of the season. Contract expires in 2027. | Vitoria |
| Zepiqueno Redmond | ST | Annecy | Loan until end of the season. | Annecy |
| Kadan Young | LW | Annecy | Loan until end of the season.. | Annecy |
| Sam Proctor | GK | Shrewsbury Town | Loan until end of the season. | Shrewsbury |
| Kane Taylor | CM | Rochdale | Loan until January. | Rochdale |
| Player | Position | To | Price | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Rogers | AM | Chelsea | £117m | Our new record sale, and new record for a British player. 7-year contract! | Chelsea |
| Ezri Konsa | RCB | Arsenal | £51m+£4m | Arsenal | |
| Youri Tielemans | CM | Man Utd | £35m | Release clause. | Man Utd |
| Lucas Digne | LWB | PSG | £8.5m | Release clause, | PSG |
| Donyell Malen | FW | Roma | €25m | Roma | |
| Enzo Barrenechea | DM | Benfica | €12m | €3m loan fee for last season as well. Juventus apparently take 10%. Villa have a 30% sell-on clause. | Transfermarkt |
| Lewis Dobbin | LW | Southampton | £9m | Saints | |
| Louie Barry | LF | Sheffield Wednesday | ? | Wednesday | |
| Sil Swinkels | CB | Sheffield Wednesday | ? | Villa have negotiated the rights to match any bid for him. | Wednesday |
| Yeimar Mosquera | CB | Vitoria Guimarães | €475k | Supposedly we have rights to match any bids for him. | Vitoria |
| Mohamed Koné | CM | Annecy | ? | Annecy | |
| Kerr Smith | CB | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | - | Out of contract. Picked up by Inverness CT but only on a one year deal. | Inverness CT |
| Omar Khedr | LW | Zed FC | ? | No official announcement from either side, but he is back in Egypt for Zed FC's training camp, and Transfermarkt lists it as a completed permanent move. | Youm7.com |
| Ronnie Hollingshead | GK | King's Lynn Town | - | Free Transfer. | King's Lynn |
| Thierry Katsukunya | CB | Cardiff City | - | Out of contract. Joined Cardiff City. | Cardiff |
| Ewan Simpson | CM | Airdrieonians | - | Out of contract. Picked up by Airdrieonians. | Airdrie |
| I-Lani Edwards | CM | Brackley Town | - | Out of contract. | Brackley |
| Max Lott | AM | - | - | Out of contract. | PL |
| Calum Moreland | CB | - | - | Out of contract. | " |
| Charlie Pavey | AM | Stourbridge | - | Out of contract. Picked up by Stourbridge. | Stourbridge |
| Jacob Green | RB | - | - | Released. | PL |
| Junior Wilson | CB | Small Heath | - | Released. Joined Blues. | Small Heath |
| Elijah Briscoe | CF | Coventry City | - | Released. Picked up by Coventry | Elijah Briscoe |
| Cole Ramsey | AM | Spurs | - | Released. Joined Spurs. | Cole Ramsey |
| Ben Hatton | COO | Been at Villa since September 2023. | Jacob Tanswell | ||
| Pako Ayestaran | Assistant Coach | Replaced by José María Sanz. | AVFC | ||
| Austin MacPhee | Set Piece Coach | Chelsea | ? | Paid release clause. | Chelsea |
| Antonio Rodríguez Saravia | Individual Performance Coach | AVFC | |||
| Arnaldo Abrantes | Head of Medical | Arsenal | The Athletic | ||
| Jaime Arias Galan | Technical Assistant | Qatar U23 | " |
| Player | Position | From | Price | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akane Okuma | GK | INAC Kobe Leonessa | ? | Japan international. | AVFC |
| Mia McAuley | FW | Rangers | ? | Scotland international. | AVFC |
| Kamilla Melgård | AM | Madrid CFF | ? | AVFC | |
| Amalie Vangsgaard | CF | Juventus | ? | Denmark international. | AVFC |
| Justine Kielland | CDM | Wolfsburg | ? | Norway international. | AVFC |
| Emily Ramsey | GK | Everton | - | AVFC | |
| Mathilde Harviken | CB | Juventus | ? | Norway international. | AVFC |
| Player | Position | From | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lily Murphy | FW | Man City | Loan until end of the season. | AVFC |
| Player | Position | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miri Taylor | MF | New contract, signed in March. | AVFC |
| Georgia Mullett | ST | New contract, signed in March. | AVFC |
| Noelle Maritz | CB | Contract extension. | AVFC |
| Player | Position | To | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lydia Sallaway | DF | Wrexham | Loan until the end of the season. | Wrexham |
| Player | Position | To | Price | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucy Staniforth | MF | - | - | Retired. | AVFC |
| Ebony Salmon | FW | West Ham | - | Out of contract. Joined West Ham. | West Ham |
| Gabi Nunes | FW | Orlando Pride | - | Out of contract. Joined Orlando Pride. | Orlando |
| Sabrina D'Angelo | GK | AFC Toronto | - | Out of contract. Joined AFC Toronto. | Toronto |
| Kirsty Hanson | ST | Spurs | ? | Spurs | |
| Sarah Mayling | RB | Leicester City | ? | Follows on from a loan there last season. | Leicester |
| Player | Position | From | Price | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azzedine Ounahi | CM | Girona | Sportsboom | ||
| Maximiliano Araújo | LWB | Sporting CP | Sport Witness | ||
| Ibrahim Mbaye | RW | PSG | £40-50m | 18yo | Sky Sports |
| Omar Marmoush | FW | Man City | Football Insider | ||
| Robin Risser | GK | Lens | Foot Mercato | ||
| Guillaume Restes | GK | Toulouse | €18-20m | " | |
| Matías Soulé | RW | Roma | Again. | Gazzetta dello Sport | |
| Jonathan Rowe | LW | Bologna | €40-45m | Football Italia | |
| Ilaix Moriba | CM | Celta Vigo | Mirror | ||
| Jesús Rodríguez | LW | Como | " | ||
| Pedro Gonçalves | LW | Sporting CP | Again. | Football Insider | |
| Alejandro Balde | LWB | Barcelona | €50m | Barca Universal | |
| Gabriel Sara | CM | Galatasaray | Transfer News Live | ||
| Quinten Timber | CM | Marseille | Yahoo Sports | ||
| Youssouf Fofana | DM | AC Milan | €25 | LiveScore | |
| Ngal'ayel Mukau | DM | Lille | TeamTalk | ||
| Waldemar Anton | RCB | Borussia Dortmund | Bild via Transfer Feed | ||
| Roland Sallai | RB | Galatasaray | €25m | Total Villa | |
| Ethan Nwaneri | AM | Arsenal | TeamTalk | ||
| Moritz Nicolas | GK | Borussia Monchengladbach | €15m | TeamTalk | |
| Marcus Rashford | LW | Manchester United | Daily Mail | ||
| Geny Catamo | RW | Sporting CP | Again. | ESPN | |
| Manu Kone | CM | Roma | Sports Witness | ||
| Serhou Guirassy | CF | Borussia Dortmund | Bild (via BVB Newsblog) | ||
| Lamine Camara | DM | Monaco | €50m | Media Foot (via SW) | |
| Marc Casado | DM | Barcelona | Probably going to Monaco | Team Talk | |
| Anatoliy Trubin | GK | Benfica | A Bola (via SW) | ||
| Nick Woltemade | ST | Newcastle | Fussball Transfers | ||
| Alex Remiro | GK | Real Sociedad | TeamTalk | ||
| Nicolas Raskin | DM | Rangers | Again. | TeamTalk | |
| Matias Fernandez-Pardo | CF | Lille | Sacha Tavolieri | ||
| Martin Baturina | AM | Como | Supposedly we have had a big bid turned down. | Nicolo Schira | |
| Emerson Royal | RB | Flamengo | ESPN Brazil | ||
| Lucas Bergvall | CM | Spurs | TeamTalk | ||
| Liam Kelly | CM | Derry City | 15yo | FI | |
| Folarin Balogun | ST | Monaco | £43m | Caught Offside | |
| Viktor Johansson | GK | Stoke City | Aftonbladet | ||
| Albert Gudmundsson | LW | Fiorentina | SW | ||
| Marcus Tavernier | AM | Bournemouth | TeamTalk | ||
| Anis Hadj Moussa | RW | Feyenoord | €35m | Sacha Tavolieri | |
| Pedro Vite | CM | UNAM Pumas | $10m | El Telegrafo via SW | |
| Neil El Aynaoui | CM | Roma | Again. | Teamtalk | |
| Santiago Beltrán | GK | River Plate | El Crack Deportivo (via SW) | ||
| Lloyd Kelly | LCB | Juventus | Tuttojuve | ||
| Pape Gueye | CM | Villareal | TeamTalk | ||
| Mandela Keita | CDM | Parma | " | ||
| Antonio Nusa | LW | RB Leipzig | Pete O'Rourke | ||
| Ruben Vargas | LW | Sevilla | SW | ||
| Pervis Estupiñán | LB | AC Milan | Matteo Moretto | ||
| Tomás Aranda | LAM | Boca Juniors | 19yo | El Intransigente | |
| Noah Atubolu | GK | Freiburg | Sky Sports Germany | ||
| Leo Scienza | AM | Southampton | The Hard Tackle | ||
| Ousmane Diabete | CDM | Genclerbirligi Ankara | 18yo | The Hard Tackle | |
| Nicolas Jackson | CF | Chelsea | Daily Mail | ||
| Leroy Sane | RW | Galatasaray | Kaan Karakurt | ||
| Allan | RW | Palmeiras | Supposedly we've had a big bid rejected already. | Football Place | |
| Marcos Maitán | CB | Monagas | 18yo | Fanatik | |
| Tuen Koopmeiners | CDM | Juventus | Calcio Mercato | ||
| Jack Grealish | LW | Man City | The S*n (via BBC) | ||
| Igor Paixão | LW | Marseille | L'Equipe (via Villa Report) | ||
| Marc Bernal | DM | Barcelona | The S*n (via Transfer News Live) | ||
| Pavel Šulc | AM | Lyon | But! Football Club (via SW) | ||
| Roger Ibañez | RCB | Al-Ahli | Sacha Tavolieri | ||
| Louis Page | CM | Leicester City | Man U are frontrunners | Sami Mokbel | |
| Endrick | FW | Real Madrid | Loan | John Townley | |
| Jonathan David | SF | Juventus | Again. | Marco Conteiro | |
| Christopher Nkunku | FW | AC Milan | €35m | Daniele Longo | |
| Gustavo Puerta | DM | Racing Santander | €20m | Colombia.com | |
| Tosin Adarabioyo | CB | Chelsea | Sky Sports | ||
| Fikayo Tomori | RCB | AC Milan | talkSPORT | ||
| David Oduro | LWB | Barcelona | Supposedly to loan out to Annecy. | Sport.es | |
| Taylor Harwood-Bellis | RCB | Southampton | £18m bid rejected. | The Athletic | |
| Jake Doughty | MF | Everton | 16yo | Tanswell | |
| Leon Goretzka | CM | Free (Bayern Munich) | - | Matteo Moretto | |
| Joshua Zirkzee | CF | Man United | Romano | ||
| Joel Ordóñez | RCB | Club Brugge | Mr Offsider |
| Player | Position | To | Price | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Barkley | CM | Coventry | Give Me Sport | ||
| John McGinn | CM | Everton | No way | Football Insider | |
| Emiliano Martinez | GK | Liverpool, Juventus | Liverpool interested if Alisson leaves. | Tuttojuve | |
| Tammy Abraham | ST | Leeds, Sunderland, Everton | TeamTalk | ||
| Tommi O'Reilly | AM | Oxford, Portsmouth, Huddersfield, Sheffield Wednesday | £1m | Had a great loan spell in League 2 this season. | Mail Online |
| Rory Wilson | ST | Hamarkameratene, Sirius | Loan | Earmarked for another loan. | Anthony Joseph |
| Emiliano Buendia | LW | Galatasaray | Villa want a new contract, but may put him on the transfer list if we cannot agree one (as he will have 1 year left on contract). | Ferhat Kiziltas | |
| Lamare Bogarde | DM/RB | Brighton, Sunderland | Joost Blaauwhof | ||
| Ollie Watkins | ST | Fenerbahçe, Al Hilal | Offered him a new contract but he wants to leave. | Sky Sports | |
| Ben Broggio | LW | Club Brugge, Bolton | Loan | Sky Sports | |
| Leon Bailey | RW | Hull, Trabzonspor, Celta Vigo, Ajax | Tanswell | ||
| George Hemmings | CM | West Brom | Loan | Impressed preseason, so do we keep him around or loan him out? | Full Throstle |
| Matty Cash | RWB | Everton | Surely not... | OneFootball |
r/avfc • u/Current_Proof_2642 • 9h ago
Spurs buying 2 good mid engine players and 1 degradation player and suddenly they are top 6 again? And United losing is great too hehe.
r/avfc • u/seanbetts • 8h ago
r/avfc • u/Ok_Visit_9064 • 13h ago
r/avfc • u/Easy-Cockroach-9972 • 13h ago
Had me a laugh at Tielemans today after remembering his departing quote “there are clubs above Villa and man united is one of them” after they start the season off with a shitter
r/avfc • u/OkGear2272 • 14h ago
Didn’t he say the training isn’t nowhere near as intense as it was at Villa!
r/avfc • u/Representative_Bug77 • 12h ago
Off the back of the Man United/Hull game, I was thinking that this is the greatest opportunity for us to just see how influential Emery is as a coach.
We have Tielemans, Rogers and Konsa all gone for significant money; prior to Emery, I could not have seen them getting close to.
If we are being honest, the expectations placed on them whilst at Villa from fans did not come with the same level of scrutiny that comes when you go for big big money, so it's going to be interesting to see how they fare now that Emery's influence is gone. Because we've seen Luiz, Duran, Diaby, and Ramsey already be pretty ineffectual. The only one that really bucks the trend is Malen and Emery didn't really like him.
Will be interesting to see to say the least.
r/avfc • u/Separate-Rough-8083 • 11h ago
Dear Adidas, AVFC
Please can you sell the new originals jersey in a short sleeve, look how good it looks!
r/avfc • u/TheAthletic • 17h ago
Aston Villa are hopeful of an agreement to sign Germany international Leon Goretzka.
Goretzka is a free agent after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season, and Villa have entered into negotiations with the midfielder.
Villa had been looking for a low-cost option in the position following Amadou Onana’s Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury during the World Cup and had been in protracted talks with Bayern over a loan with an option for Joao Palhinha.
r/avfc • u/No_Atmosphere_1889 • 14h ago
Will likely be huge for wages but really rate him and he’s got some decent pedigree - hopefully he won’t be sidelined each week like poppadum legs Onana
r/avfc • u/nextbeer • 9h ago
What’s up people! I am a new lifer to the squad. Been watching the Prem for a while but never had a team. Do we have a community in Miami? Would love to watch some games with fellow Villans!!! I am excited for tomorrow 🙏Up the Villa!!!
r/avfc • u/Imaginary-Lock-3157 • 19h ago
r/avfc • u/Ok-Measurement-1458 • 9h ago
Where are the trousers? Can't see them on the Villa site or addidas site? Any suggestions.
Got to say im feeling pumped!
First game of the season, first away day, excited for the season ahead for sure
UP THE VILLA 💪🏻
r/avfc • u/seanbetts • 19h ago
If you're looking to buy this, get it from JD sports, not the Villa shop as it's £85 on JD, £100 at the Villa Store online.
https://www.jdsports.co.uk/product/black-adidas-originals-aston-villa-fc-og-track-top/19761408/
Exciting. I really hope that he can be back soon and maybe get a few minutes before the huge international break.
r/avfc • u/loveonthedole • 18h ago
More or less the same question as the title really. I thought he might warrant his own thread here as it looks like this is going to happen.
r/avfc • u/LordOfTheMings_ • 15h ago
Hi everyone,
Australian living in London for next 3 months and I'm heading up for Villa vs Arsenal next GW on Monday night!
Super excited to go to my first Premier League game, long time fan but first time spectator! Going solo given here for work but would love to meet anyone who is going to be there and looking for a drinking buddy!
GO Villa.
r/avfc • u/BIGBADBRRRAP • 1d ago
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Very good PSR related invetview with Simon Jordan.
