Aston Villa face Brentford in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter.
Although it’s been a difficult start to the season with Villa still without a goal after four Premier League games, a battling point at Everton was a step in the right direction as we try to get back on track.
Having lost at Brentford last month in our league meeting, Emery will hope to find the solutions to ensure that we advance in the Carabao Cup, as winning silverware will undoubtedly be a top priority this season for both him and the players, given that it would not only end our trophy drought, but could also be a pivotal route to European football next year.
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Injuries are certainly a problem though in this early part of the season with a string of key absentees already, as Youri Tielemans was the latest to join that group after picking up a setback on Saturday.
Nevertheless, we still boast quality depth and competition across the squad, and the expectation was that we would name a strong starting line-up to help us get the job done in west London, and as per the club’s post below, Emery has made seven changes to the side that faced Everton.
Marco Bizot, Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen, Donyell Malen, Evann Guessand, Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho all come into the Villa XI, while there is a pivotal boost on the bench too as Boubacar Kamara has recovered from his injury setback to take his place in the matchday squad.
It’s a first start for Elliott while Sancho makes his Villa debut, and so it will be fascinating to see how they’ve adapted since joining the club and if they can have an immediate positive influence on our play in the final third.
As expected, it’s a strong Villa line-up with great options on the bench too if needed, and so hopefully we can get the better of Brentford this time round, with the hosts making ten changes of their own from the side that faced Chelsea last weekend, and so hopefully that plays in our favour as well.
Tonight’s side to face the Bees ⚫️ pic.twitter.com/F3MUiU3yyp
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 16, 2025