Preview: Brighton-bound Aston Villa must stop season going south

The desire to improve a run of just one point from three matches would be enough motivation for Steven Gerrard’s team no matter the wider circumstances.

But Burnley’s resurgence over the past week has raised the temperature just a little. The Clarets’ win over Tottenham on Wednesday night means Villa’s cushion over the Premier League bottom three now stands at seven points and there is a scenario, should things not go their way on the south coast, it could be down to four by tomorrow night.

Gerrard, of course, will not be focusing on what could go wrong but it is now easier to understand why, even before last weekend’s defeat to Watford, the head coach was warning his players against complacency.

For the first time since replacing Dean Smith, the 41-year-old is facing scrutiny and it will be intriguing to see what changes are made as he looks to get his team back on track.

Gerrard had promised them in the wake of the 1-0 defeat at Newcastle a fortnight ago but ultimately made only one alteration to his starting XI for the visit of Watford, replacing the out-of-sorts Ollie Watkins with Danny Ings.

The latter did not score but there was enough evidence in the first half against the Hornets to suggest he may be more suited to the system currently employed. Speaking afterwards Gerrard suggested Ings, who was starting for the first time in more than a month, may have been hindered by a lack of match fitness and it is likely the 29-year-old will get a second chance at the Amex Stadium.

Of more interest is what happens in midfield, the area which has posed Villa most problems this season and for much of last. The drop-off in consistency under Gerrard since the loss of Marvelous Nakamba to injury has been notable. Villa’s boss was keen to address the situation in the transfer market last month but saw a £25million bid for Brighton’s Yves Bissouma rejected. The challenge now is how to get the better of the Mali international tomorrow. Whether Gerrard has any better options in the middle of the park than the frustratingly inconsistent Douglas Luiz is the increasingly pressing question.

All three of Villa’s previous visits to the Amex have ended in draws, with last season’s fixture not featuring a goal thanks largely to a superb performance from visiting goalkeeper Emi Martinez.

A clean sheet tomorrow would at least be a step forward for a team who have been too easy to score against since the winter break, though Gerrard will be hoping for the same result as when Brighton visited Villa Park in November, where goals from Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings earned the hosts a 2-0 win in his first match in charge.

The suspicion remains Villa possess too much quality to be dragged into a serious scrap at the bottom but a team who believe they are good enough to be competing in the top half of the table need to start performing. Otherwise the closing months of the season could yet get uncomfortable.