Aston Villa vs Brentford
Just when my admiration for Aston Villa could barely grow much higher, they took their injury-hit and battle-weary squad on a Premier League journey to Tyneside and returned home with three precious points.
That Villa, who won at Newcastle last Sunday with goals from Emiliano Buendia and Ollie Watkins, sit in third place, just four points off the summit, is some going.
Realistically, they have neither the resources nor the financial strength to keep up with the top two, but their achievements are no less impressive.
Now they go in search of more Premier League 2026 highlights with a new striker in tow as Brentford, themselves achieving against the odds, come to town.
Talking Points
Make no mistake, this is yet another test for the astute Spaniard Unai Emery.
While he has this week brought in Tammy Abraham, a £18.5 million recruit from Besiktas, their already depleted squad was dealt another blow on Thursday night when Watkins had to leave the fray in their Europa League tie with a hamstring injury.
It is likely to keep him out for some time, which means their main frontman will join the injured captain John McGinn and Youri Tielemans on the sidelines, alongside Boubacar Kamara, who has already ruled out for the season.
For a squad with such a limited pool of players, Emery will hope Abraham can hit the ground running as the English frontman returns to the club where he spent a memorable season on loan in 2018-19, a campaign in which he helped earn them promotion from the Championship with 26 goals in 40 games.
Another former Villan who will have little time to ease into proceedings is Douglas Luiz, who has also arrived on loan to ease their injury crisis in the middle of the park.
The Brazilian is returning for a second spell, joining from Juventus after his loan at Nottingham Forest was cancelled. The deal includes an option to buy, and there is no doubt the 27-year-old is a much-needed addition, especially with McGinn on the sidelines and Tielemans ruled out for up to 10 weeks.
Villa sold Luiz to Juventus for £42.35 million in 2024, but he only made three Serie A starts last season before joining Forest in the summer.
If Emery is the star manager for me, then top-flight rookie boss Keith Andrews deserves many plaudits too. So far this term, he has defied the doubters, exceeding all expectations on a shoestring, upsetting some of the big boys along the way, and generally being a tough nut to crack with limited resources.
No doubt the naysayers will say Brentford’s bubble has burst, and it would be all too easy for me to adopt that stance after back-to-back 2-0 losses to Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.
After all, I was the pundit who tipped them for the drop, and of course, I wasn’t the only one after they lost their manager, Thomas Frank (to Spurs) last summer, along with a nucleus of key players.
Once again this weekend, Andrews and his men will be underdogs, but they have thrived in that scenario so many times this term and may relish doing so again in a clash between two managers who deserve huge respect.
History
This will be just the 25th meeting between the teams.
It all began in September 1935 when they met in a League Division One encounter in which Dai Astley and Pongo Waring scored the goals in a 2-1 Villa success.
The return fixture at Villa Park three months later ended 2-2.
After six Villa victories and three draws in league and cup, it wasn’t until January 2017 that the Bees managed to defeat their illustrious opponents in a 3-0 victory at their former ground, Griffin Park.
The scorers that day were Lasse Yibe (two) and Nico Yennaris.
Brentford have never won at Villa Park and were beaten 3-1 in the corresponding fixture last season when Morgan Rogers, Watkins (penalty), and Matty Cash scored three first-half goals before Mikkel Damsgaard grabbed a second-half consolation for the Bees.
Brentford beat them earlier this season, though, when Dango Ouattara notched the only goal of the contest 12 minutes in.
In fact, they have defeated them twice already this season as a 1-1 draw in the third round of the League Cup in September was won 4-2 on penalties by the home side – Aaron Hickey and Harvey Ellliott the respective scorers during the 90 minutes.
Overall, Villa have won 10 of their meetings with eight draws and six Brentford triumphs.
Betting Tip
Villa are naturally favourites with the SBOTOP Premier League 2026 betting odds but the loss of Watkins, coupled with their efforts on Thursday night in Europe, could mean weary limbs are inevitable.
It may seem strange, then, that I am backing the home side to take charge in the second half – a time when you’d expect their exertions to perhaps be taking their toll against opponents who have had a week on the training pitch.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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