Brighton and Hove Albion have named 19-year-old Stefanos Tzimas in the starting line up to face Aston Villa at the Amex this evening (Wednesday 3 December).
It will be the teenager’s first Premier League start and comes after he opened his account when he came off the bench in the 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
The Greek youngster takes the place of in-form veteran Danny Welbeck up front, with Carlos Baleba restored to the midfield and Brajan Gruda also down for a start.
Georginio Rutter is being rested after taking a ball in the face at Forest – although he did not suffer from concussion, according to head coach Fabian Hürzeler. Yasin Ayari is also absent.
Yankuba Minteh, Diego Gomez and Maxim De Cuyper are also named in the starting side this evening as Albion seek to avenge a 3-0 drubbing by Villa at the Amex in April.
Lewis Dunk is due to captain the side as he makes his 500th appearance for Albion since first playing for his hometown club in League One 15 years ago.
He told Sky: “The club has come a long way and I have been lucky enough to be on the whole journey with it.
“It’s been enjoyable – and let’s see where we can end up this season and in the future.
“This club is my whole life. I have been here since I was 10 or 11 years old so it means everything to me.
“The pride and the honour to put the shirt on and the captain’s armband on every game and to play every day in training is still there and it always will be.”
The skipper leads a defence that is also expected to include Mats Wieffer, Jan Paul van Hecke and Ferdi Kadioglu, with Bart Verbruggen in goal.
Welbeck is on the bench where he is due to be joined by Jack Hinshelwood, Olivier Boscagli, Diego Coppola and Joel Veltman.
The other subs are reserve keeper Jason Steele, Joe Knight and 18-year-olds Charalampos Kostoulas and Nehemiah Oriola.
The visitors are without Ross Barkley and Tyrone Mings but their fellow England internationals Morgan Rodgers and Ollie Watkins are more than capable of posing a threat as Albion well know.
Villa manager Unai Emery is looking to maintain the form that has taken his side to fourth in the Premier League, with 24 points from 13 games – one place and two points above Brighton.
A win could lift Brighton to third and underscore the fortress Amex mentality that Hürzeler has spoken about previously. The Seagulls are unbeaten in six home league games at Falmer this season.
Villa’s form on the road consists of two wins, two draws and two defeats although they have won their past three top-flight matches since a 2-0 defeat at Anfield a month ago.
