Aston Villa vs Brentford

Villa Park sets the stage for Aston Villa’s must-win Premier League encounter against Brentford. 

Aston Villa’s noticeable fall from grace hit a new low last weekend. Indeed, a disastrous 3-0 league defeat at Chelsea extended their winless run in all competitions to eight games (D3, L5), diminishing their chances of matching last season’s top-four finish. Plagued by their worst winless streak in the Premier League since August 2022 (D2, L3), Unai Emery’s charges return to Villa Park, seeking a way out of the bottom half of the table with a win against a Brentford side they’ve not lost to across their last four top-flight H2Hs (W2, D2). Further confidence comes from Villa’s formidable home form, highlighted by a promising-looking record of just one defeat from their 11 previous Premier League outings in Birmingham (W4, D6). However, with the last three ending all square, there’s a need for extreme caution. 

Visiting Brentford lifted their spirits in the build-up to this trip, humbling newly promoted Leicester City 4-1 at home over the weekend to extend their unbeaten league streak to three matches (W2, D1). Despite that rich vein of form and a commendable eighth place in the standings, Brentford’s quest to whittle down a three-point deficit on fourth-placed Brighton solely hinges on addressing their travel sickness. Thomas Frank’s men have been awful on the road this season, losing five consecutive away league outings before drawing 0-0 at relegation-battling Everton last time out. Moreover, though the Bees boast the division’s second joint-best scoring record of 26 goals, only four came outside the Gtech Community Stadium.