Aston Villa vs Brighton Tips: Gerrard hoping for a winning start in Villans hot seat

New Villa boss Steven Gerrard takes charge of his first game in the hot seat this weekend, as Brighton travel to the West Midlands in search of three points. 

The hosts have been in dismal form lately, losing their last five league games, a run which saw manager Dean Smith sacked just before the international break. 

Gerrard has been drafted in as Smith’s successor and the former Rangers head coach will be desperate to get off to a winning start, but will know just how difficult the task in hand will be, with Brighton losing just once in the league since September 11th. 

Graham Potter’s side will be gunning for a European spot come the end of the campaign, but need to start turning some of their recent draws (five in last six outings) into wins. 

This clash seems like it could be an entertaining spectacle on the face of it, so BettingOdds.com has taken a look at the betting markets and plucked out three potentially profitable bets for Saturday’s match-up, kicking off at 3pm.

Brighton’s talismanic defender Shane Duffy seems like good value for one shot on target here, priced at 15/8 with Paddy Power. The Irishman is the Seagulls’ second-highest ranking player for shots having registered a total of 16 this term - five of which have been on target (one goal). 

Duffy is a huge aerial threat from set-pieces and can pose Villa plenty of problems this weekend, especially with the likes of Leandro Trossard and Adam Lallana providing the 29-year-old with pinpoint deliveries from corners and free-kicks in the final third.

My next play is Leon Bailey and John McGinn both to register a shot on target. The pair will be eager to impress new manager Steven Gerrard and should therefore be looking to get shots away as soon as half a sight of goal is presented to them. 

Furthermore, the duo rank among the leaders for Villa in terms of shots on target so far this season. Bailey has tested the keeper four times with his nine shots, while McGinn has three SoT to his name (17 shots overall). With this considered, I fancy both players to land at least one shot on goal in this weekend’s clash against Brighton.

To round things off, I’ve gone for a 28/1 shot featuring two players to be carded. No Brighton player has picked up more yellow cards than Adam Lallana this season (4), while the former Liverpool man has committed the joint-second most fouls of any of his teammates so far with 11 - just four short of Joël Veltman’s 15. 

I like the look of Lallana for a booking this weekend, tasked with containing a really agile Villa midfield which contains the likes of John McGinn, Anwar El Ghazi and Leon Bailey. 

For the Villans, Tyrone Mings looks overpriced for a booking at 10/3 considering he has already been cautioned four times in the league this campaign (joint-most of any Villa player) and has committed a total of 11 fouls. 

With the elusive Neal Maupay to keep quiet, Mings could be in for a tough afternoon and one poor challenge will see him booked by referee Anthony Taylor - who has dished out 31 yellows and two red cards so far in 2021-22.

This same bet is just 20/1 with Paddy Power, so you're getting good value with bet365, who are offering 28/1 at the time of posting.