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Nothing like a trip to the seaside in late November, eh? As Aston Villa get set to kickoff against Brighton & Hove Albion, the match-time temperature is forecast to be a brisk 5 degrees C. That’s 41 F for we American folks who use a better system of temperature measurement.* Regardless of what you want to call it in numbers, allow me to give you the forecast in words: IT’S GONNA BE COLD.
*After a discussion on Twitter, I’ve come to realize that the best system we could use is Kelvin. Sure we’d all have to re-learn something, but at least it makes some absolute physical sense. In that regard, the match-time forecast for tonight is 278 degrees. BRRRR.
But that’s the fun of football, right? But can you do it on a dry cold seaside night in Brighton? as the old saw goes. And weather aside, Aston Villa are up for a pretty big challenge. Sure, they haven’t lost under Steve Bruce, and have even gotten 11 points from 15 possible in his tenure (that’s quite good!). But Brighton... hoo boy. Brighton currently sit second, just three points behind Newcastle United. In their last 10 matches, they’re actually one point better than United, and they only have two losses on the season.
And we’re playing them in Brighton. This might actually be Steve Bruce’s toughest test yet. If he can get anything out of this match I say we all sing a song in his honor. Heck, if Villa win, they’ll sit in 10th for at least a few hours until Saturday morning. And if Bruce can’t get anything out of this trip, let’s all not go crazy.
Location: Falmer Stadium, Brighton, England
Kick-off time: 7:45 PM BST, 2:45 PM Eastern, 11:45 AM Pacific
Available TV: Sky Sports 1 (UK), beIN SPORTS USA
Available streaming: beIN SPORTS CONNECT, fuboTV (allows you to stream beIN in the US and Canada. You can sign up here), Sky GO (UK)
Available radio: BBC WM 95.6 FM (not online), AVTV (If audio doesn’t work, try using Safari)
Other listings are available from livesoccertv.com.
Aston Villa squad
The teams are in! Here’s how #AVFC line up at @OfficialBHAFC. #BHAFC pic.twitter.com/HLgVrGnJ6L
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) November 18, 2016
Brighton and Hove Albion squad
#BHAFC team v #AVFC: Stockdale; Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong; Knockaert, Sidwell, Stephens, Skalak; Murray, Baldock. #BHAvAVFC
— BHAFC ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) November 18, 2016
#BHAFC subs v #AVFC: Maenpaa (GK), Goldson, Pocognoli, Norwood, March, Murphy, Hemed. #BHAvAVFC
— BHAFC ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) November 18, 2016