Aston Villa vs Brentford: Villans can return to winning ways against Bees

– Brentford have lost nine of their last 10 away league fixtures
– Only the current top three have a better home record than Aston Villa
– Recommended bet: Aston Villa to win and BTTS

After a comprehensive 4-1 defeat at Manchester City in midweek, Aston Villa will be looking to return to winning ways when they host a Brentford side that have had a torrid time of things away from the Gtech Community Stadium in 2024.

Team news

Unai Emery’s side was heavily depleted at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, with the likes of Ollie Watkins and Emiliano Martinez missing the defeat through injury and illness respectively.

The Spaniard remains hopeful that the pair will return to face Brentford on Saturday, but a quintet of stars will remain absent in the form of Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia, Boubakar Kamara (all knee), Jacob Ramsey (ankle) and Matty Cash (thigh). Midfielder John McGinn will also be expected to return to the fold having served his three-match suspension.

The Bees also have a number of injury issues to contend with, as Kevin Schade (groin), Christian Norgaard (back), Josh Dasilva, Rico Henry (both knee), Ben Mee, Ethan Pinnock (both ankle) and Aaron Hickey (thigh) are all expected to miss out.

However, there may be some good news for Thomas Frank in the forward line, as Bryan Mbeumo could be fit enough to start alongside Ivan Toney up front, with the two forming a clinical partnership last season.

The stats

Villa came from behind to take all three points from the reverse fixture in a 2-1 victory back in December.

Only Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have claimed more points at home than Villa’s 34.

Villans striker Ollie Watkins is second in the goalscoring charts this season with 16 goals, as well as registering 10 assists.

Brentford have picked up just 10 points on the road this season, with only bottom side Sheffield United earning fewer.

The Bees have won just one of their five Premier League meetings with Aston Villa.

Thomas Frank’s men have won just twice in all competitions in 2024.

Prediction

The Bees have lost nine of their last 10 on the road – the sole respite coming in the form of a 2-0 victory at Wolves in February – and this torrid form is unlikely to change when they visit Villa Park on Saturday.

The Villans struggled to replicate their home form from the beginning of the season at the turn of the year, losing four of their opening five home fixtures in all competitions, but look to have turned a corner in recent weeks by registering shutout victories against Ajax (4-0) and rivals Wolves (2-0) in their last two home matches.

Emery’s men will be expected to claim all three points this weekend but these are unlikely to come easily for the league’s fourth ranked side.

Despite their abject form on the road, Brentford have found the net in six of their last seven and could cause havoc for a Villa side hampered by injuries.