Brentford will be hoping to end their five-match winless run when they welcome in-form Aston Villa to West London in the Premier League. Despite their recent struggles, manager Thomas Frank believes that his side is capable of achieving European qualification. However, they face a challenging run-in, including a home game against champions Manchester City.
The Bees have won all four league meetings against Aston Villa held at home this millennium, and they will look to reduce the seven-point gap between them and their visitors. Brentford’s recent 2-1 defeat to Newcastle was their first Premier League home loss in 11 games, and Frank will be hoping that his side’s form will turn around at their own ground.
Meanwhile, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa is enjoying a resurgence and is now in a European qualification position following five straight Premier League wins. The Villans are looking to better their position, and they will be confident of doing so after dismantling Newcastle 3-0 in their last outing.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney is a player to watch, having scored before half-time in two of their last four fixtures. On the other hand, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has scored in a club-record six consecutive league away games and contributed to more Premier League goals than anybody since the post-World Cup restart (G12, A3).
All three previous Premier League meetings between these sides have seen more goals before half-time than after (W1, D1, L1), and another fast start could be what either side needs to claim victory.
