Sky Live: Brighton v Aston Villa preview

Brighton host Aston Villa live on Sky Sports 1 on Friday night looking to continue their run of 10 games unbeaten.

French midfielder Anthony Knockaert missed the 2-0 win over Bristol City prior to the international break following the death of his father, but will be back for the visit of Villa, who are unbeaten in five.

Forward Richie Towell and winger Kazenga LuaLua are on the mend after knee problems and played for the under-23s in the Checkatrade Trophy win over Leyton Orient last week.

Midfielder Beram Kayal is still on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

Jordan Amavi and Leandro Bacuna are available for Aston Villa after overcoming knocks.

Midfielder Mile Jedinak will be assessed by the club after returning from international duty with Australia in Thailand.

Micah Richards remains a doubt with a calf problem and Ritchie de Laet is out for the season with a knee injury.

Jordan Ayew returns from suspension and is likely to be handed an instant recall by boss Steve Bruce but Ross McCormack is banned.

Match stats

The visitors have won three of their last four league games - prior to this run they had won one of their previous 25 league games either side of the summer break.

Brighton could achieve their highest-ever points total after their first 17 games in the top two divisions with a win

Brighton possess the best defence in the Sky Bet EFL, conceding just nine goals in their 16 Championship games. They also have four more clean sheets than any other side in the top four divisions with 11 in their 16 games.