Aston Villa will be desperate to return to winning ways when they welcome Brentford to Villa Park on Wednesday.
The games are coming thick and fast in the Premier League, with Gameweek 14 kick-starting on Tuesday. Wednesday will present six matches, with the action ending with two simultaneous matches, including Aston Villa vs Brentford at Villa Park.
Aston Villa began the 2024/25 Premier League season superbly, continuing to show the potential to progress and perhaps even become title contenders. However, the Villans have fallen off a cliff in the top flight, even though they have continued making an impression in the UEFA Champions League. Unai Emery’s men have won only one of their last eight Premier League games, with the run of results dropping them into the 12th spot in the standings.
As for Brentford, the 2024/25 season has been a tale of contrasting performances at home and on their travels. While the Bees have the best home record in the Premier League this term, they have the joint-worst points tally on the road. However, Thomas Frank will hope to see his charges turn their away form around, considering their opponents have struggled in recent weeks.
The corresponding fixture last season saw Brentford come from two goals down to hold Aston Villa to a 3-3 draw, with the teams scoring with every shot on target. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Aston Villa
Unai Emery has a new injury concern hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Aston Villa manager might be bereft of the services of three first-team players vs Brentford on Wednesday.
Emiliano Martinez is the latest absentee after picking up a hand injury this past weekend against Chelsea. The Argentine international has joined Jacob Ramsey on the sidelines, with the academy graduate recovering from a hamstring issue. Meanwhile, Amadou Onana is closing in on returning to action but might not be fit enough to feature.
Robin Olsen should replace the injured Martinez between the sticks, with Aston Villa lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Brentford on Wednesday. The backline should feature Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, and Ian Maatsen.
As for the midfield unit, Ross Barkley should pair up with Youri Tielemans in the double pivot, with Boubacar Kamara missing out. Morgan Rogers should reprise the no. 10 role, with John McGinn and Leon Bailey lining up alongside him in the advanced areas. Finally, Ollie Watkins will lead the line for Aston Villa against Brentford.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Barkley, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins
Brentford
Like his counterpart in the Aston Villa dugout, Thomas Frank has a new issue to worry about ahead of the trip to Villa Park. The Brentford manager will be without six first-team players on Wednesday.
Mathias Jensen is the latest absentee due to a tight hamstring, picking up the issue this past weekend against Leicester City. The Danish international has joined Rico Henry (knee), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Kristoffer Ajer (foot), Gustavo Nunes (back), and Joshua Dasilva (knee) on the sidelines.
Mark Flekken is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Brentford lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Aston Villa on Wednesday. The backline should feature Sepp van den Berg, Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock, and Keane Lewis-Potter.
As for the midfield unit, Vitaly Janelt should join Christian Norgaard in the double pivot. Mikkel Damsgaard will likely reprise the no. 10 role, with Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade, fresh off scoring a match-winning hat-trick, being the two wide attackers. Finally, there is no looking past Yoane Wissa as the central striker for the away side.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Flekken; van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Norgaard; Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade; Wissa
Key Stats
Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last four league games vs Brentford (W2 D2), having been winless in their previous eight (D4 L4). The Bees have never won an away league game against Aston Villa (D6 L3), with the club only facing Stoke City (14) and Halifax Town (11) more often on the road without ever winning.
There has been only one clean sheet in the six Premier League meetings between Aston Villa and Brentford, with the Villans winning 4-0 in October 2022 under Aaron Danks.
Brentford have lost nine of their last 10 Premier League games against sides that finished in the top four the previous season, with the exception being a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in March.
Aston Villa have lost only one of their last 11 Premier League home games (W4 D6), going down 2-0 against Arsenal in August. Their last three outings have finished level, with the Villans most recently drawing four consecutive Premier League games at Villa Park in March/April 2007.
While Brentford have won more points in Premier League home games than any other side this season (19), no side has won fewer points on the road than the Bees this term (1, level with Southampton).
Player to Watch
Ollie Watkins
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While Jhon Duran’s dry run has contributed to Aston Villa’s woes, Ollie Watkins must step up even more than his offensive partner. The Englishman was one of the most prolific attackers in the Premier League last season, contributing to a top-four finish for the Villans.
Against Crystal Palace this past weekend, Watkins became the first Aston Villa player to reach 50 goal involvements in Premier League home games (35 goals, 15 assists). His 35 strikes are the second most by a Villa player at Villa Park, behind only Dwight Yorke (37).
However, the English international has found the back of the net only twice in his last seven Premier League outings. That output must improve for Aston Villa to become a force in the top flight again.
Prediction
Aston Villa 2-2 Brentford
As iterated earlier, only one Premier League meeting between Aston Villa and Brentford has seen a team keep a clean sheet. So, a goal fest is on the cards, with the Bees fancying their prospects due to the home side’s struggles and the Villans looking to take advantage of the away side’s travel blues.
While Aston Villa might have struggled for momentum in the Premier League in the last few weeks, they have barely lost at home this year. However, the home side’s defensive issues will come to the fore again, leading to a stalemate. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-2 draw between Aston Villa and Brentford.