I've woken with a spring in my step boys. Winter is here and the time is right for dancing in the street. I have no idea where that came from. I do know that today is a match that we should be winning. This is a little like Leeds and Southampton, but maybe even easier.
And I mean no disrespect. Brighton play good football and every match in this League is important, but we have to approach this game as we all know we can and if we do, we should win this.
I'll make it simple. If we approach this game the right way and we work the right way, we should get three points.
It's a funny old game
But we all know this isn't a computer game that can be paused or restarted. There is a lot of pressure on the manager to get it right and we will know after two minutes how it will go and again, two minutes after kick off, there will be many comments predicting that.
And this is why the manager is the most important person at the Club. It's his job to get the players to play the right way and to work together. The manager has to get it right today and as my swagger suggests, I'm sure he will. We know he can do it, today he has to.
The manager
I shouldn't mention this, but you've not seen videos like the one above for a while because the Club tried to move videos to their own site. It looks like they're back. Hopefully the Club don't try to create another YouTube and they focus on content and creating it in the future, just like I'm going to concentrate on getting drunk later and dancing in my living room.
Match facts from the BBC
Head-to-head
- Villa are unbeaten at home to Brighton in all competitions, winning nine games and drawing the other three.
- The Seagulls are winless in eight league meetings since a 1-0 home triumph in December 1980 (D4, L4).
- Brighton have only once scored more than one goal against Villa in any of their 20 league encounters. That came in a 2-1 home victory in the third tier in 1972.
Aston Villa
- Villa have won five of their opening seven Premier League fixtures for only the second time. In 1998-99, they extended that run to six wins from eight matches.
- The Villans have won three Premier League games this season by at least a three-goal margin, as many as they had in their previous four top-flight campaigns combined.
- However, Aston Villa have suffered consecutive home league defeats.
- Dean Smith has only made three changes to his starting XI in the Premier League this season and used 18 players. Both are the lowest tallies in the division.
- Ollie Watkins has scored six goals in seven Premier League games. Dion Dublin, with nine goals, and Dean Saunders, with seven, are the only players to have scored more in their first seven appearances for Villa in the division.
- Jack Grealish has scored in each of his past four appearances against Brighton in all competitions, including in all three meetings last season.
Brighton & Hove Albion
- Brighton's tally of six points is their lowest after eight matches of a league campaign since 2002-03, when they were eventually relegated from the second tier.
- The Seagulls are winless in six Premier League matches since beating Newcastle 3-0 away in September (D3, L3).
- Albion could set a club record of scoring in eight successive top-flight away matches.
- They can keep consecutive league clean sheets for the first time since a run of three in October 2018 under Chris Hughton.
- The 106 fouls Brighton have conceded this season is the most in the Premier League prior to the weekend. Aston Villa have earned the most free-kicks in the division.
- Pascal Gross is one match short of becoming the fourth player to make 100 Premier League appearances for Brighton.
- Lewis Dunk celebrates his 29th birthday on the day of this fixture.