Brighton v Aston Villa: Key stats and talking points

Two of the Premier League's in-form teams meet on the south coast on Wednesday. BBC Sport examines some of the key themes.

Brighton's home comforts

Brighton and Hove Albion are vying to register a club record fourth successive top-flight home win in a row, and they are unbeaten in 10 Premier League matches at Amex Stadium since a 3-0 defeat against Aston Villa eight months ago.

Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler bemoaned his side's failure to implement their usual high-pressing game during that fixture, with his players looking jaded in the wake of an FA Cup quarter-final exit on penalties to Nottingham Forest four days earlier.

This time around, they face Villa off the back of an impressive away league victory at Forest, which secured 10 points from four games in November. Only Chelsea matched that.

Brighton's high press has served them well this season – they've won possession within 40 metres of their opponent's goal more than any other side, and this has translated to an unrivalled number of shots and two goals.

"I see a team that sticks together, a team that's working hard, a team that's getting an understanding more and more for each other," said Hurzeler after Sunday's win at Nottingham Forest.

Defining month for Villa?

Meanwhile, Aston Villa have moved from 18th place to fourth by winning seven of their past eight league matches. They have earned the most points in the division over that time, with only Manchester City scoring more and just Arsenal conceding fewer.

Nonetheless, their credentials will be severely tested in December. In addition to this testing trip to Brighton, they face Arsenal twice, Chelsea and Manchester United before the end of the year.

Villa have had to think outside the box since failing to win any of their opening five league games this season – and only scoring one goal during that period. Nine of their 16 top-flight goals have been scored from outside the penalty area - no other team in Premier League history has scored such a high percentage of goals from range in a season.

While it has led to spectacular moments, Villa's reliance on long-range shots is indicative of the fact they are yet to fully find their attacking fluency this season. Unai Emery, whose next Premier League victory will be a record 62nd for a Villa manager, has challenged his side to improve their goal output:

"We lost [out on] Champions League [qualification last season] through goal difference," he said.

"We are, in our demands, trying to identify where we played weak, even when we are winning. We are not scoring a lot of goals. We want to score goals and get numbers."