Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez won’t play against Brighton
19:28, 03 Dec 2025
Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez(Image: Photo by Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock)
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez has pulled out of the starting XI to face Brighton this evening.
Marco Bizot will take the Argentine’s place in goal, with reports suggesting the change is due to injury.
Martinez was due to make his 15th appearance of the season tonight but is said to have picked up a problem during the warm-up.
Bizot has made five appearances for Villa so far this season and also replaced Martinez at late notice in the Europa League match against Feyenoord.
The 34-year-old kept a clean sheet at De Kuip as Villa won 2–0.
Villa are targeting their sixth consecutive win in all competitions this evening, as well as back-to-back away victories following their 2–1 win at Leeds United 10 days ago.
Brighton have won just one of their last nine Premier League games against Villa – a 1–0 home victory in May 2024.
Villa, meanwhile, have won three of their last four away league matches against Brighton, as many as they had in their first 11 visits to the Seagulls.
What is your score prediction? Tell us here
The latest Villa headlines sent straight to your phone
Join our Aston Villa WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click on this link and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. It’s a free service. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from our Villa writers.
We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Villa news. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click ‘Exit Group’. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. Click here to read our Privacy Notice
Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.
Our dedicated reporter John Townley – who you can follow on X by clicking here – follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur – that’s why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you’ll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here.
You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive’s Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.
If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here.
Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.
