Aston Villa vs Brentford Match Preview: Team News, How to Watch & Prediction
· Yahoo Sports
Brentford finally return to Premier League action on Saturday with a trip to Aston Villa, three weeks after Keith Andrews' side signed off for the international break with a 3-0 win over Chelsea.
Visit casino-promo.biz for more information.
The Bees started the season unbeaten, with their first five league games bringing two wins and three draws, scoring 10 goals and conceding four across their opening matches. Villa have experienced a very different opening, taking four points from five matches. However, a 3-2 win away to Tottenham immediately before the break gave Unai Emery his first league victory of the campaign.
That makes Villa's position slightly deceptive going into Saturday. Their summer involved major change, with Ezri Konsa, Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Martínez and Lucas Digne among those to leave, while Zion Suzuki, Nicolas Jackson and Johan Manzambi have been settling into Emery's new-look side. Manzambi scored and assisted against Spurs, while Jackson has also started to establish himself through the middle.
The Bees have had more recent reasons to enjoy the trip to Villa Park. Their last visit ended in a 1-0 win despite playing most of the game with 10 men after Kevin Schade was sent off, with Dango Ouattara scoring the only goal shortly afterwards. It was Brentford's first victory at Villa Park and completed a league double over Saturday's opponents.
Brentford Team News
Mikkel Damsgaard is the most obvious new concern after returning early from Denmark duty with an ankle problem.
The midfielder was forced off late in Denmark's defeat to Portugal and subsequently withdrew from the squad before their final match of the break. Brentford will need to assess him after his return to West London, with his availability for Saturday not yet clear.
Nathan Collins is another player Andrews will be asked about in his press conference ahead of the match. The Brentford captain suffered a calf strain against Sunderland and was ruled out until the international break, rather than given a longer return date. Jannik Schuster started the following league games against Bournemouth and Chelsea alongside Kristoffer Ajer and impressed during his first run of Premier League starts.
Mathias Jensen had also been missing before the break. Andrews said ahead of the Bournemouth game that the midfielder was progressing well but would not be available for either that fixture or the following weekend, so his condition will also need updating before Villa Park.
There has been plenty of football elsewhere in the squad over the last couple of weeks. Ajer played all four of Norway's games, Caoimhín Kelleher did the same for the Republic of Ireland, while Michael Kayode and Vitaly Janelt both made their senior international debuts.
Aston Villa Form and Team News
Villa's victory over Tottenham changed the mood around a difficult opening month.
Emery's side had lost three of their first four league matches and failed to score in three of them before going to north London, where Manzambi produced a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win. Villa remain 16th, but the Bees will be facing a team coming off their best result of the season rather than one still searching for a first victory.
The summer overhaul has changed the team's look considerably. Suzuki has taken over in goal, Jackson provides a new focal point in attack and Manzambi has quickly pushed himself into the picture behind him.
A fuller injury picture should emerge from Emery's pre-match media duties.
What to Expect From Aston Villa vs Brentford
The more interesting question is whether Villa's win at Tottenham was the start of something or simply their first good afternoon of a difficult opening spell.
They have enough technical quality through midfield to make the Bees defend for stretches at Villa Park, particularly with McGinn and Buendía drifting away from their nominal starting positions. Manzambi's emergence has also given Emery another player willing to arrive around the box rather than leaving Jackson isolated.
Brentford have already shown they do not need to dominate the ball to create chances. The front three against Chelsea were Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Kevin Schade, with Anthony opening the scoring and Thiago finding the net before Fábio Carvalho completed the 3-0 win late on.
Schade's pace should again give Villa something to think about if their full-backs push on, while Thiago offers Brentford a target when they choose to play forward quickly rather than work through midfield.
Much may depend on what Andrews has available centrally. Damsgaard gives Brentford a different level of creativity between the lines if available, while the possible return of Collins would change the defensive picture after Schuster runs in the side.
When Is Aston Villa vs Brentford?
Aston Villa host Brentford at Villa Park on Saturday, October 10.
Kick-off is at 3pm BST. The fixture has remained in the traditional Saturday afternoon slot rather than being moved for UK television coverage.
How to Watch Aston Villa vs Brentford
The match will not be shown live in the UK because it falls inside the Saturday 3pm broadcast blackout.
In the United States, kick-off is at 10am ET, 9am CT, 8am MT and 7am PT, with coverage available on USA Network and Universo, as well as supported streaming services.
In Canada, Premier League coverage is available through Fubo.
Prediction
Villa should be better than their first five results suggest, and the win at Tottenham offered the first real sign that their new-look attack is settling in.
Brentford have been far more consistent, though. They remain unbeaten, have conceded only four league goals and have already shown they can win games without needing long periods of control.
With Villa improving and Brentford coming back from a busy international break, a point would not be a bad return from Villa Park.
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Brentford