Aston Villa will look to build on their dominant win over Club Brugge when they travel to Brentford on Saturday for a crunch Premier League encounter.
The Villans’ league form has come under scrutiny following a string of inconsistent results, including the 4-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace – which saw them drop to 10th place. However, they appear to have regained the momentum with back-to-back comprehensive victories over Cardiff City in the FA Cup and Club Brugge in the Champions League round of 16 1st leg.
Leon Bailey and Marco Asensio rose to the occasion against Brugge, helping the Villans cruise to a 3-1 victory, putting one leg in the quarter-finals.
The Lions manager Unai Emery must be looking to translate the current form to the Premier League and try to step up their efforts in the top-four race. Despite trailing only by five points off the final Champions League spot, the Villans are embroiled with a handful of clubs in a taut battle.
On the other hand, Brentford will look to make things difficult for the Lions, having been undefeated in their last three games (2W 1D). Although they have struggled with inconsistent results, the Bees have more often than not produced dominant victories.
Sitting just behind the Villans, Thomas Frank’s side could look to push themselves in the final stretch of the season for European places.
Team News
Brentford will be without a host of names for Saturday’s clash, including Sepp van den Berg, Mathias Jensen, Christian Norgaard, Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey and Joshua Dasilva.
On the other hand, Villa must be happy with the return of Boubacar Kamara from injury, who featured in the second half against Club Brugge. Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana are unlikely to make it to Saturday’s game but they are said to be nearing full fitness.
Brentford vs Aston Villa – Probable Line-ups
Predicted Brentford Playing XI: Mark Flekken, Kristoffer Ajer, Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock, Keane Lewis-Potter, Yehor Yarmolyuk, Vitaly Janelt, Bryan Mbeumo, Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade, Yoane Wissa
Predicted Aston Villa Playing XI: Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Axel Disasi, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Leon Bailey, Morgan Rogers, Marco Asensio, Ollie Watkins
Key Players
Yoane Wissa (Brentford)
Yoane Wissa has found the net twice in the last three games, extending his tally to 13 goals in the Premier League this season, bettering last season’s numbers. The DR Congolese star has grown into one of the lethal strikers in the English top flight, spelling danger to the defenders with his brutal pace, predatory finishing and link-up play. It will be interesting to see how he would deal with a solitary Villa’s defence, helmed by Disasi, Konsa and Mings.
Marco Asensio (Aston Villa)
Marco Asensio is having a dream start to his loan spell at Aston Villa, scoring three goals in 5 games, including the strike on his UCL debut with the Villans. The Spaniard is proving to be a catalyst in Villa’s attack and could be the final piece of the puzzle for the club’s top-four ambitions.
Brentford vs Aston Villa – Where to Watch?
United Kingdom
The Premier League game between Brentford and Aston Villa will be broadcast on Sky Sports.
United States
The game can be live-streamed via Fubo.
Prediction: Brentford 2-2 Aston Villa
