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Brighton vs. Aston Villa Lineups, Preview
Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa face off against one another on Sunday, August 23, at the American Express Stadium as they kick off their 2026-27 Premier League campaign.

It’s an interesting encounter between two sides who had a solid 2025-26 season, with Villa coming in as Europa League champions and Brighton aiming to continue their development under Fabian Hurzeler. The match will kick off at 2pm BST.

Brighton vs. Aston Villa Latest Team News

Brighton have a few concerns going into the opener. The latest team-news reports list Stefanos Tzimas, Evan Ferguson, and Yankuba Minteh as unavailable.

Carlos Baleba has also secured a high-profile move to Manchester United before the Premier League opener.

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 8: Zadok Yohanna of Brighton & Hove Albion during the during the pre-season friendly match between Brighton & Hove Albion and AS Roma.Photo by Sebastian Frej/Getty Image

Villa are also having selection problems. Amadou Onana, Leon Bailey and Johan Manzambi are all out, and Alejandro Garnacho is also unavailable for the opener. Aston Villa have made a few changes to their squad this summer, with Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers, Jadon Sancho, Douglas Luiz and Lucas Digne all leaving.

Villa have responded by signing goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and left-back Matteo Ruggeri. Suzuki may be in contention for the starting goalkeeper role as Emiliano Martinez’ situation remains unclear.

Brighton vs. Aston Villa Predicted Lineups and How to Watch

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup: Verbruggen; Weiffer, Dunk, Vuskovic, Kadioglu; Ayari, Gross; Gomez, Hinshelwood, De Cuyper; Rutter

Aston Villa possible starting lineup: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Hemmings; McGinn, Barkley, Buendia; Watkins

The Premier League will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports, and the U.S. will be able to follow the Premier League on NBC’s coverage, including Peacock.

Key kickoff times include:

  • USA (ET): 9 a.m.
  • USA (PT): 6 a.m.
  • Canada (ET): 9 a.m.
  • UK (BST): 2 p.m.
  • Germany (CEST): 3 p.m.
  • France (CEST): 3 p.m.
  • Spain (CEST): 3 p.m.
  • South Africa (SAST): 3 p.m.
  • Saudi Arabia (AST): 4 p.m.
  • UAE (GST): 5 p.m.
  • India (IST): 6:30 p.m.
  • Japan (JST): 10 p.m.
  • Australia (AEST): 11 p.m.
  • New Zealand (NZST): 1 a.m. Monday

Stan Sport provides Australia’s Premier League coverage, with international broadcast deals being different across territories.

The match will be a good indicator of the way both teams will start the season, as Villa have returned from their UEFA Super Cup loss to Paris Saint-Germain and Brighton have come into the season with a positive outlook.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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