It has been a summer of upheaval at Aston Villa and their new-look side face a tough test in their Premier League opener with a trip to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Unai Emery worked his magic again last season by leading Villa to Europa League glory, which earned them another crack at the Champions League.
But they've since lost key men Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne, while doubts remain over the future of inspirational keeper Emi Martinez.
Emery has replaced them with emerging talent and it will be fascinating to see how Aston Villa fare on their trip to the south coast.
Brighton are past masters at scouting hidden gems and polishing them into superstars, a policy that has served the Seagulls well.
Fabian Hurzeler's side finished eighth in the Premier League last term and that has earned them another crack at Europe.
They started their Conference League campaign with a play-off trip to Tromso on Thursday and it will be interesting to see if that has an effect on their Premier League opener.
There hasn't been a big turnaround of players this summer in Brighton so Hurzeler will just looking to ease his new signings into a well-drilled team.
How the bookies view it: Seagulls to soar
After losing so many big names, Aston Villa are 21/10 outsiders for their Premier League opener. Brighton and Hove Albion are 6/5 favourites and the draw pays 27/10.
Recent head to head: Villa bossing it
Aston Villa have dominated this fixture in recent years, losing just one of the last 11 meetings. They won 4-3 on their last visit to the AMEX and also edged a 1-0 victory at Villa Park last term.
Players to watch: Rutter ready to roar
Georginio Rutter has been in decent form for Brighton in pre-season, netting twice, and should start either through the middle or out wide. The former Leeds forward is 11/10 with Bet365 to score or assist.
Emi Buendia had a tremendous game in the UEFA Super Cup as Aston Villa were unlucky to lose 2-1 against PSG. The Argentinian playmaker is 8/5 to score or assist and that looks decent value.
Probable line-ups
Brighton have some injury issues on the wings, with Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh out. Young striker Stefanos Tzimas is also still recovering from a knee injury picked up last season.
Aston Villa have a big hole in their midfield, with new boys Johan Manzambi and Joao Gomes joining Amadou Onana on the sidelines with injuries.
Brighton and Hove Albion: Verbruggen, Wieffer, Vuskovic, Boscagli, Kadliogu, Ayari, Gross, Gomez, Hinshelwood, De Cuyper, Rutter.
Aston Villa: Bizot, Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen, Barkley, Kamara, McGinn, Buendia, Garnacho, Watkins.
Anything else catch the eye?
There has been quite a lot of negativity around Aston Villa this summer but I thought they were excellent in the Super Cup against PSG.
With Brighton coming off the back of a Thursday night match in Europe, Emery's side could get some joy in this Premier League opener and backing them to win either half pays a decent 10/11.
We saw seven goals when these sides faced off on the south coast last term so it bodes well for an entertaining game. Combining BTTS and over 2.5 goals also pays 10/11 with Bet365.
There's not much between these sides so it should be a tight game and the half-time draw is priced at 11/8.
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Aston Villa Betting Tips & Predictions
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