Watkins To Lead The Line | 4-2-3-1 Aston Villa Predicted Lineup Vs Brighton | OneFootball

Aston Villa will lock horns with Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium on Sunday as they look to secure a good result at home in the Premier League. The Villans suffered a tough 2-1 loss at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach in a pre-season friendly game recently, which has halted their momentum going into this new campaign.

Unai Emery will set his men up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to name his strongest XI for this game. Hence, Ollie Watkins will once again lead the line for the Villans up top.

4-2-3-1 Aston Villa Predicted Lineup To Face Brighton

Defence

Marco Bizot will function in between the sticks for the West Midlands club as he looks to keep a clean sheet away from home. Victor Lindelof will play alongside Pau Torres at the centre of the Aston Villa backline as they try to keep the opposition at bay during the 90 minutes.

Matty Cash will fill in as the right-back, while Ian Maatsen hopes to prove his worth on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will have to pick and choose their moments to join in on the attack.

Tyrone Mings will offer cover for the centre-back positions on the bench.

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA – AUGUST 12: Unai Emery, Manager of Aston Villa, points during the UEFA Super Cup 2026 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa at Stadion Salzburg on August 12, 2026 in Salzburg, Austria. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Midfield

Boubacar Kamara and Ross Barkley will operate as the holding midfielders for the Villans as they try to dictate the tempo of the game in the middle of the park.

The talented trio of Alejandro Garnacho, Emiliano Buendia and John McGinn will play just ahead of them as part of Emery’s attack. All three of them need to combine if they are to engineer enough chances for Aston Villa to secure a victory this weekend.

George Hemmings and Lamare Bogarde will have to be content with a place on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the second 45 minutes if needed.

Attack

Ollie Watkins will spearhead Emery’s attack on his own up top. He has to figure out a way to be a real threat in and around the Brighton penalty box.

Tammy Abraham is a major doubt for this game. However, he might be fit enough to start on the Aston Villa bench.