Damian 22 August 2025
Just because Brentford have made a lot of changes this summer and got beat on the opening game of the season does not mean this is an easy fixture. You might even say they're a little like that bear you poked in the woods when the bear was sleeping.
They could remain sleeping this weekend, but chances are they've woken up. Every team in the Premier League have a chance of winning every match. We can't take this one lightly and we need to approach it with the right mindset.
And that mindset could take a few forms. Last weekend, it looked like we didn't want to lose. Or we were just having a bad day at the office. This weekend will tell us more. We have to want to win this game first and actions speak louder than words.
And I for one am going to be very interested in a. who starts and b. how we approach this game.
But seeing as we're thinking, I think it's about time to write again that change isn't always good. And yes, I was in town at lunch and yes, it's Friday so I might have had a pint and yes, I might be at home now and I might have just opened a beer.
But we need this transfer window closed.
We're not going to win the League. Or more to the point, we shouldn't have expectations of winning the League. We should just want to watch our side try to win every game. And this season could be good for us.
But we have to stop worrying about players coming or going. We're supporters of Aston Villa and whoever puts the shirt on, as long as they give 100% and they are approaching the game the right way, it should be good enough for us.
I also want to write that the bigger window for us this season will be January. And in January, if we can do what we did last season, could be very good for us. The squad we have now and add the quality of player we got in last January, could see us going very far in the European competition we're in.
So, lets just forget about this window. It closes soon and for me, the sooner the better. It's all about tomorrow and three points. We need these.
Match facts from the BBC
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* Brentford are winless in their last six league games against Aston Villa (D2 L4), and haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their eight Premier League meetings with the Villans.
* Aston Villa have won their last two away league games against Brentford, having lost four of their previous five visits beforehand (D1).
* Brentford have never lost their first home top-flight match in any of their nine seasons at this level of English football (W7 D2), scoring at least two goals in every match.
* Aston Villa have gone two Premier League games without a goal (D1 L1) for just the second time under Unai Emery. They haven’t gone three without scoring in the division since July 2020 under Dean Smith.
* There were 75 goals scored at the Gtech Community Stadium in the Premier League in 2024-25, the most of any venue. Brentford both scored and conceded two or more goals in eight different home matches, the most by a team in a Premier League season since Wigan in 2012-13.
* The first goal conceded of Keith Andrews’ reign at Brentford was via a Nottingham Forest corner, with the Bees conceding just three corner goals in the entirety of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign when Andrews was set-piece coach. The Bees haven’t conceded from a corner in consecutive league games since December 2023, one of which was against Aston Villa.
* Aston Villa mustered just three shots in their MD1 0-0 draw with Newcastle United, their fewest in a Premier League match since May 2024 (2 vs Brighton). Across MD1, Villa ranked 20th for shots and expected goals (0.20) of all Premier League sides.
* Aston Villa have picked up a red card in three of their last four Premier League games, only one fewer than in their first 98 under Unai Emery (4). They’ve had a red in each of their last two, never previously seeing a player sent off in three games in a row in the competition.
* Igor Thiago scored his first Premier League goal for Brentford in their 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest on MD1. Three players have scored in the Bees’ first and second games of a Premier League season – Josh Dasilva in 2022-23, and both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa in 2023-24.
* Ollie Watkins has had a hand in 13 goals in his last 18 Premier League appearances in London for Aston Villa (11 goals, 2 assists), scoring in each of his last two away games against former club Brentford in 2023-24 and 2024-25.