Preview: Aston Villa vs Brentford - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams at opposite ends of the Premier League table square off at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon as Aston Villa play host to Brentford.

Unai Emery’s men will be seeking revenge over the Bees after suffering a narrow 1-0 home defeat in their previous encounter with Keith Andrews’s side in February.

Match preview

After failing to win any of their opening four Premier League games for only the fourth time in their history (D1 L3), Aston Villa claimed their first victory of the new season when they beat basement club Tottenham 3-2 in North London prior to the international break.

Despite a late fightback from Spurs, Villa held on to secure their third win in four matches across all competitions, and head coach Unai Emery was pleased with his team’s defensive resilience in a “very demanding” match that “challenged” his players.

The reigning Europa League champions will endeavour to string a positive run of form together in the coming weeks in their bid to climb from 16th in the Premier League table; this time last year, they began a memorable run that included 12 wins out of 13 in the top flight.

Aston Villa return to Villa Park this weekend seeking to avoid a third successive home league defeat for the first time since November 2020 under former boss Dean Smith. Emery, meanwhile, has never lost three home league games in a row in his 22-year managerial career.

Furthermore, Villa have lost their last two Premier League meetings against Brentford without scoring; their last top-flight home win over the Bees was in December 2024 when goals from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash sealed a 3-1 victory.

Brentford are one of only five teams yet to lose in the Premier League this season and have made their best start to a top-flight campaign after accumulating nine points from their opening five matches (W2 D3).

Just under a month on from beating Spurs 3-0 on the opening weekend, the Bees convincingly beat West London neighbours Chelsea by the same scoreline on home soil prior to the international break, helping Keith Andrews’s side climb to fourth in the table.

The 22-day international interval arguably came at the worst possible time for Brentford, who have put together a nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions (W4 D5) and have scored at least twice in five of those matches.

Nevertheless, Andrews is confident that his ‘competitive’ and ‘adaptable’ squad can build on their positive start, as they attempt to claim their fourth consecutive win over Aston Villa in all tournaments, and their second at Villa Park in 2026.

Brentford have found it difficult to grind out wins on the road, though, as they have failed to come out on top in any of their last seven Premier League away games (D5 L2) since beating Burnley 4-3 in February.

Aston Villa Premier League form:

Aston Villa form (all competitions):

Brentford Premier League form:

Brentford form (all competitions):

Team News

Aston Villa duo Amadou Onana (knee) and Ian Maatsen (ankle) remain sidelined with injuries, while Pau Torres (hamstring), Matty Cash (dead leg), Alysson (muscle) and Marco Bizot (back) are all doubtful.

Summer signing Leon Goretzka (knee), who is yet to make his debut for the club, and 17-year-old starlet Brian Madjo (ankle) will also be assessed ahead of kickoff, with the hope that both players can make the matchday squad.

Johan Manzambi, another new recruit, became the second player to both score and assist on their first PL start for Aston Villa after Kevin Phillips in August 2005. The Swiss star is likely to continue on the left side of midfield, with Emiliano Buendia and John McGinn also providing support in attack for striker Nicolas Jackson.

As for Brentford, Mikkel Damsgaard is set for a spell on the sidelines after sustaining “a bigger injury” to his ankle on international duty with Denmark. Young forward Kaye Furo (unspecified) is also in the treatment room.

Dango Ouattara is doubtful with an illness that forced him to miss Burkina Faso’s international fixtures, while Mathias Jensen (unspecified), Joshua Dasilva (thigh), Antoni Milambo (knee), Nathan Collins (calf) and Sepp van den Berg (groin) will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

New signing Jannik Schuster delivered a standout performance against Chelsea and should be rewarded with another start at centre-back next to Kristoffer Ajer, while Vitaly Janelt - who ranks first for interceptions (16) among all Premier League players this season - could be joined in midfield by Yehor Yarmolyuk and Mamadou Sangare.

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Suzuki; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Mings, Ruggeri; Kamara, Gomes; McGinn, Buendia, Manzambi; Jackson

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Kayode, Schuster, Ajer, Lewis-Potter; Sangare, Yarmolyuk, Janelt; Anthony, Thiago, Schade

We say: Aston Villa 1-1 Brentford

Goals at both ends of the pitch could be on the cards this weekend, given that seven of Brentford’s last nine league matches have seen both teams find the back of the net, while Villa have only kept one clean sheet in seven games this season.

While the Bees have routinely found a way to edge tight contests with Villa over the last 12 months, we are backing the hosts to follow up their morale-boosting victory over Tottenham last time out by claiming at least a hard-earned point on home soil.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.