Brentford will host Aston Villa at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, looking to continue their recent run of form.
Brentford are unbeaten in four of their last five matches in the Premier League ahead of the game vs Aston Villa. It will be interesting to see if they can grind out a win here. On the other hand, Aston Villa have been quite inconsistent recently, and they have dropped down to tenth in the Premier League table.
The West Midlands outfit will be chasing European qualification for the 2024/25 season, and they cannot afford to keep dropping points. They will be desperate to bounce back strongly. The Villans will certainly fancy their chances against Brentford, and it will be interesting to see if Unai Emery’s men can step up and produce a match-winning performance.
Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last six meetings vs Brentford, and they have the quality to grind out all three points here. It remains to be seen whether they can get the job done. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Brentford
Brentford will be without Joshua Dasilva due to a knee injury, Gustavo Nunes due to a back injury, Rico Henry due to a knee injury, Aaron Hickey due to a thigh injury, and Igor Thiago with a knee injury. Christian Norgaard, Sepp van den Berg, and Mathias Jensen are out with knocks as well.
The home side will shape up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Mark Flekken in goal. Kristoffer Ajer and Keane Lewis-Potter will start as the full-backs here. They will look to keep things tight at the back and hit Aston Villa on the break. Nathan Collins will start alongside Ben Mee at the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, Vitaly Janelt will start alongside Yehor Yarmoliuk and Mikkel Damsgaard in the middle of the park. Janelt and Yarmoliuk will help out defensively, while Damsgaard will add creativity and drive to the side. Kevin Schade will lead the line for Brentford vs Aston Villa, with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa on either side of him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Mee, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Schade, Wissa
Aston Villa
Amadou Onana is ruled out with a knock, and Ross Barkley has a calf issue. Aston Villa will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, with Emiliano Martinez in goal.
Andres Garcia and Lucas Digne will start as the full-backs. They will look to help out defensively and hit Brentford on the break. Ezri Konsa will form the central defensive unit alongside Axel Disasi.
As for the midifeld unit, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans will look to add control and drive to the side from the deep. Leon Bailey and Marcus Rashford will add pace, flair and creativity to the side from the wide areas.
Meanwhile, Morgan Rogers will start as the attacking midfielder, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates. Finally, Ollie Watkins spearhead the Aston Villa attack vs Brentford on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Garcia, Konsa, Disasi, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Rashford; Watkins
Key Stats
- Aston Villa have scored at least two goals in their last four matches vs Brentford in all competitions. The Villans are unbeaten in the last six meetings against Brentford.
- Brentford have picked up three wins from their last six matches in the Premier League.
- Aston Villa have picked up just one win from the last six Premier League matches.
- Brentford’s shot conversion rate of 15.2% is the best in the Premier League this season. They also have the highest xG per shot of 0.14.
- Aston Villa have failed to win any of their last seven matches to be played immediately after a UEFA Champions League fixture.
Player to Watch
Ollie Watkins
The Aston Villa striker is our key player to watch out for. Brentford can be quite inconsistent at the back, and Watkins has all the qualities to trouble them in defence. The England international will look to create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates and find the back of the net as well.
Watkins has done quite well this season, and he is in impressive form. He will be full of confidence heading into this game. The 29-year-old has been directly involved in nine goals in his last 13 Premier League games in London, scoring eight and assisting one. In addition, his tally of 15 career Premier League goals in the capital is more than twice as many as any other Aston Villa player. So, he will be the go-to man for Unai Emery on Saturday.
Prediction
Brentford 2-2 Aston Villa
Both teams will be desperate for a victory here, and this is likely to be a close contest. Matches between these two side are often packed with goals, and this one is unlikely to be any different. Neither side prefer to sit back and defend.
Brentford and Aston Villa will look to take an aggressive approach, and they will look to outscore each other. A high-scoring game is on the cards here, but the two teams are likely to cancel each other out and share the spoils in a draw. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-2 draw.