Brighton v Aston Villa: Unai Emery's team begin their Premier League season | OneFootball

OneFootball's home page

Brighton v Aston Villa: Unai Emery's team begin their Premier League season | OneFootball

In partnership with

Yahoo sports
Icon: OffsAIde

OffsAIde

·23 August 2026

Brighton v Aston Villa: Unai Emery's team begin their Premier League season

Article image:Brighton v Aston Villa: Unai Emery's team begin their Premier League season

After a summer of upheaval, Unai Emery’s new-look Aston Villa begin their Premier League campaign away to Brighton with a notable first line-up.

As reported by ExpressAndStar.com, Ollie Watkins is absent from the matchday squad, with speculation over his future persisting after several bids from Al-Hilal were rejected.

OneFootball Videos

Marco Bizot starts in goal, a surprise given some expected new signing Zion Suzuki to be thrown straight in.

Bizot also began this fixture last season after Emi Martinez withdrew during the warm-up, and Villa won 4-3.

Villa’s XI does not include a recognised striker, while Joao Gomes has returned quicker than expected from injury.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”

View publisher imprint

MORE STORIES

See More Stories
Watch on OneFootball