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Resuming Premier League matters at Villa Park
Aston Villa look to make a winning return to Premier League affairs on Saturday, as Brentford visit Villa Park (ko 3pm).
Unai Emery’s men secured triumphs over Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur – in the Carabao Cup and league respectively – before breaking for an extended window of international duty last month.
They will now bid to record a third successive win in all competitions when taking on Keith Andrews’ side in B6, with what would be a first victory on home soil this season.
The Bees have made an impressive start to the campaign, and remain unbeaten after five outings, sitting fourth in the league table.
Brentford romped to an impressive 3-0 win at home to West London neighbours Chelsea before the international break, and like Villa, will compete in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup – away to Sunderland later this month.
Stats
Villa have lost just one of their 11 home league games against Brentford (W4 D6), though it was a 1-0 defeat in this exact fixture last season.
Brentford completed the double over the Villans last season, having won just one of their first eight Premier League games against them (D3 L4).
Villa have lost both of their Premier League games at Villa Park this season; only in 1946/47 and 1969/70 have they ever lost their opening three home matches of a league campaign.
Brentford are unbeaten in their last seven league games (W2 D5), the longest active run in the Premier League; only between October 2022 and March 2023 have the Bees had a better streak without defeat in the competition (12 in a row).
Aston Villa have recorded the fewest shots (48), shots on target (12) and touches in the opposition box (81) in the 2026/27 Premier League; the Villans also rank bottom for overall xG (4.65) and xG from set-pieces (0.39), while Brentford rank top for set-piece xG (3.82).
Brentford have kicked off a league campaign unbeaten in five games (W2 D3) for the first time since 2013/14 in League One under Uwe Rösler, last having a longer unbeaten streak at the start of a season in 2006/07 under Leroy Rosenior (first 7 in the third tier).
Only Elversberg (11.5) have faced more high turnovers per game in Europe’s big-five leagues in 2026/27 than Brentford (11.0) and Aston Villa (10.8); the Villans have conceded the joint-most goals from those turnovers in the Premier League this term (3) while the Bees have scored the joint-most (2).
Brentford’s Keith Andrews could become only the sixth manager to win each of his first three top-flight meetings with Villa’s Unai Emery after José Mourinho, Luis Enrique, Michael Laudrup, Philippe Montanier, and Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers and Pep Guardiola are the only two to beat the Spaniard in each of their first three Premier League meetings.
On MD5 against Tottenham Hotspur, Johan Manzambi became the second player to both score and assist on their first Premier League start for Villa, after Kevin Phillips in 2005/06; the 20-year-old could become the youngest player to net on both of their first two starts for the Villans in the competition, and the first overall since Danny Ings in 2021/22.
Last season against Villa, Brentford’s Dango Ouattara became the first player to score home and away in 1-0 wins against the same team in a Premier League campaign since Raheem Sterling for Manchester City against Arsenal in 2020/21. No Bees player has netted three winning goals against the same opponent in the competition.
The Last Meeting
The Bees came away from Villa Park victorious in the last meeting between these two sides, in February.
The Villans started strongly, with Tammy Abraham denied well by Caoimhin Kelleher, before Kevin Schade was dismissed for a stamp on Matty Cash.
However, with a player less, on the stroke of half-time, Dango Ouattara squeezed home from a tight angle to notch the would-be winner.
Though Villa pushed for an equaliser after the break, with Leon Bailey curling over after Tammy Abraham’s strike had been ruled out, they proved unable to salvage a draw in B6.
Team News
Unai Emery ruled out Ian Maatsen and Modou Kéba Cissé ahead of kick-off, as the pair continue to progress from their respective setbacks alongside long-term absentee Amadou Onana.
Leon Goretzka and Brian Madjo are back in training with the group, the Emery revealed the game would come too soon for the German midfielder.
Brentford, meanwhile, will be without Mikkel Damsgaard, who is set for a spell on the sidelines with an injury sustained on international duty. He joins Josh Dasilva, Antoni Milambo and young forward Kaye Furo (unspecified) in the treatment room.
Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg and Mathias Jensen are edging closer to returns, to remain unavailable, while Dango Ouattara is a doubt.
Managers' Pre-Match Thoughts
“They are a team, we must try to be close with them, and of course, this season, they started better than us, and tomorrow is for us a huge challenge.”
Villans prepare for return to action