Aston Villa's Alex Moreno to miss Brighton finale through injury

The left-back was forced off just 12 minutes after coming off the bench in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool, having made a last-ditch diving header in his own box to deny Virgil van Dijk a clear attempt on goal.

Though Villa boss Unai Emery did not believe the injury was too serious, it is unlikely Moreno will recover in time to face the Seagulls.

Lucas Digne, who was handed his first start since February in place of Moreno at Anfield, is on course to deputise again as Villa go in search of the win which would secure European football next season. The France international had played his part in an impressive team performance before being replaced by Moreno shortly after half-time.

Villa, who saw Ollie Watkins miss a penalty before Jacob Ramsey eventually opened the scoring, appeared to be on course for victory before Roberto Firmino salvaged a point for the Reds with an 89th-minute leveller.

The visitors, who frustrated the home crowd and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp with some of their delaying tactics, held firm through 10 minutes of second half stoppage time.

Skipper John McGinn said: “After (the equaliser) a lot of teams would have crumbled but we stayed strong and showed a lot of character.

“It was a test for us, it was a challenge. If we want to play in Europe, we need to come to places like Anfield and get results.

“We did on Saturday, they flung the kitchen sink at us, the atmosphere was superb in the last 10 minutes and they were trying to suck the ball into the net the same we do in the Holte End. But we stood firm, needed Emi (Martinez) and we needed our defence to stay strong and track our runners, the subs came on and gave everything.

“That’s all you can ask. We’ve given ourselves a huge opportunity next week and hopefully we take it.”

Villa’s quest for Europe had been aided earlier on Saturday by Tottenham’s defeat to Brentford and McGinn added: “A lot of people have different approaches but we had one eye on the scoreline and it was a wee bit of a boost for us going into the game knowing Spurs dropped points. It’s in our hands now.”