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Why Tammy Abraham has just missed significant chance to change Aston Villa perception Tammy Abraham looked to have a Premier League chance land on his lap in the opening game for Aston Villa. Throughout pre-season, it has been clear that Brian Madjo has been the breakout star. With Ollie Watkins yet to feature before the campaign kicks off and Madjo now being eligible to play, it seemed natural he would start the fixture against Brighton. However, Madjo's momentum has been halted after he picked up an injury, possibly giving Abraham a rare chance up top. Since returning to the Villa Park side in the 2026 winter window, the Englishman has not hit the same heights he hit before. In truth, with a fully-fit squad, the 28-year-old is likely the third-choice striker but now an injury scare for him threatens what looked to be his best chance at moving up the ranks. Who can Aston Villa rely on up front vs Brighton? Aston Villa have completed their pre-season and next up is the Premier League with a fixture against Brighton. The B6 side start their season at Villa Park and in front of their home fans with Unai Emery potentially already sharing his plans versus Brighton. In those plans, Abraham looked likely to be deployed from the start as Watkins has not yet had a proper pre-season. But, in the pre-season game against Borussia Monchengladbach, injury woes were further exemplified after Abraham went off. Last season, the English striker scored just two Premier League goals in 12 appearances and against Brighton, it would have proved to be hard to improve that record. In seven games against the Seagulls across his career, Abraham has yet to score against the AMEX Stadium side. So, history does suggest it would have been a struggle up front for Abraham, but just one goal to bring maximum points to Aston Villa could have changed perception. A chance he may now miss out on. Watkins may be forced to lead the line, which in itself is a major risk for Emery, seeing as he has not featured in pre-season. Otherwise, the Spaniard will have to turn to another member of his squad to be deployed out of position. Have Abraham's struggles been his own fault? Yes, while the numbers for Abraham do not look great, it does have to be noted he has not been given much of a chance. In the 2026-2027 season, of those 12 appearances he did start just two. He averaged just 25 minutes per appearance according to Sofascore, which is not a lot of time to make a difference. So, it has not exactly been his fault but he seemingly won't get the chance to change that versus Brighton now.