Brentford’s Premier League run-in continues on Saturday as the Bees head north to take on Aston Villa. The game kicks off at 3pm.
Thomas Frank’s side drew 0-0 with Brighton and Hove Albion last time out, while Unai Emery’s high-flying Villa lost 4-1 at Manchester City.
Analysis, team news, match officials and more. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the meeting at Villa Park.
PRE-MATCH ANALYSIS
Alex Lawes, Playmaker Stats: Brentford regaining defensive solidity at crucial time
Brentford head north to the midlands on the back of a goalless draw with Brighton and Hove Albion at Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday evening.
That performance represented a continuation of a more defensively effective style of football that Thomas Frank is attempting to utilise in order to drive the Bees away from the bottom three and the relegation places.
Between 27 December and 26 February, Brentford played 11 matches across all competitions and conceded more than two goals in a game on seven occasions. However, since then, they have avoided letting over two goals in in five successive matches.
Frank’s pragmatic style since lifting Brentford into the Premier League has been difficult to beat for every side in the division and there does now appear to be a return to that kind of formula and foundation.
Perhaps it is a statistical quirk, but it has indeed coincided with the return of Republic of Ireland international defender Nathan Collins to the starting line-up.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers man has made the third most interceptions for Brentford this season, behind Christian Nørgaard and Ethan Pinnock, with Pinnock the only man to have more clearances, too.
Pinnock, once again, is the only standout performer above Collins when it comes to pass completion too as he is the only player to have played more than 720 minutes of football to have a better rate than Collins’ 81.2 per cent.
In the absence of former Barnsley defender Pinnock, who has been sidelined through injury alongside Ben Mee, Nathan Collins has stood up to be counted, complementing fellow centre-backs Zanka and Kristoffer Ajer.
Brentford have underperformed their expected goals against rate this season, which indicates their performances have not been getting the results they deserve. A ‘reversion to mean’ was actually always expected with a belief, rather than hope, that a victory is around the corner.
As Brentford go to Villa Park with the hosts potentially missing England international Ollie Watkins, as well as dealing with the upcoming distraction of a UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final tie against Lille in midweek, the west Londoners will be confident of putting in another more commanding performance at the back, led by the impressive Collins.
SCOUT REPORT
Villa in pole position for fourth spot with finish line in sight
Aston Villa have, by and large, gradually improved year on year since returning to the Premier League after three seasons away in 2019, with 17th, 11th, 14th and seventh-place finishes.
In Unai Emery’s first six months in charge after replacing Steven Gerrard, he took a team floundering at the wrong end of the table - and staring what was beginning to look like a relegation fight dead in the eye - and transformed it into one that missed out on a spot in the Europa League group stage by a single point.
Instead, Villa qualified for the Europa Conference League, which was certainly not a bad consolation prize given they had not played in Europe in any of the 12 seasons prior.
But if you thought that was impressive, the job the Spaniard has done so far this season has been out of this world. Early exits from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup have allowed his side to focus their energies elsewhere, which has been a blessing in disguise.
Starting in the Conference League, they thumped Hibernian 8-0 on aggregate to earn a place in the group stage and qualified for the knockout stages of the competition with four straight wins that followed a narrow 3-2 defeat away at Legia Warsaw on the opening matchday in September.
They have since managed to book themselves a two-legged quarter-final date with Ligue 1 side Lille later this month after a 0-0 draw with Ajax in Amsterdam and a subsequent 4-0 win in the second leg at Villa Park. It is the deepest they have gone into a European competition since reaching the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup under Brian Little and, later, John Gregory in 1997/98.
Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Villa were exquisite in the first half of the season and picked up 35 of the first 48 points on offer before the Brentford game on 17 December, which was such a good return that even Sky Bet had priced them at 16/1 to win the title, following wins over frontrunners Arsenal and Manchester City.
They started 2024 with one league win in four, which allowed the usual suspects to establish more of a cushion, though four wins in the last six at the time of writing have allowed them to tighten their grip on fourth spot.
All things considered, it goes without saying that this has been one of the best seasons in recent memory for Villa fans: their talisman Ollie Watkins is closing in on his career-best goal tally, overdue midweek European adventures have returned and they have the fourth-best home and away records in the division at the time of writing.
That sentiment is reflected in the numbers, too. One more win, six more points and 10 more goals would see them record their highest return in each category throughout the course of a 38-game Premier League. It has not been bad going, to say the least.
A late shot at disrupting the title race might now be out of the question, but it has been some season so far and one that is not over by any stretch.
IN THE DUGOUT
Unai Emery
Having taken charge of almost 1,000 matches over the last 20 years, Unai Emery is one of the most experienced managers currently working in the Premier League.
After a career as a midfielder, mostly playing in the second tier of Spanish football, the Spaniard had a pretty quick transition into management, having suffered a serious knee injury in his early 30s.
He helped the now-defunct Lorca Deportiva to promotion in 2004/05 and got Almería into La Liga for the first time in 2006/07, before an incredible eighth-place finish the following campaign.
In 2008, his exploits saw him move on to Valencia, whom he guided to three straight third-place finishes from 2010 to 2012, before a forgettable six-month spell in Russia with Spartak Moscow.
He returned to Spain in January 2013 and guided Sevilla to three successive Europa League titles.
Two years and seven trophies with Paris Saint-Germain followed, with Emery then trusted by the Arsenal board to become the successor to Arsène Wenger, which was, to an extent, a poisoned chalice.
The Europa League king guided the Gunners to the final in 2019, where they were beaten by Chelsea in Baku, Azebaijan, but he was unable to help them finish higher than fifth for the first time in four seasons.
He was sacked after 18 months in November 2019 and appointed by Villarreal in July 2020, with - you’ve guessed it - a fourth Europa League triumph following 10 months later, by way of a penalty shootout win over Manchester United in Gdansk, Poland.
The 52-year-old turned down an approach by Newcastle United in November 2021, but came back to England to replace Steven Gerrard at Villa Park in October 2022.
THE GAMEPLAN
With BBC West Midlands’ Daz Hale
BBC West Midlands’ Daz Hale explains how Unai Emery is likely to set up his side on Saturday:
"He has changed things around without McGinn but, generally, he has used a back four this season.
"He has used a back three from time to time, but he likes to have three in midfield and two behind the striker, but it may change if Ollie Watkins is unavailable at the weekend.
"They play out from the back a lot and, quite often these days, Emiliano Martínez will have the ball and stare down the opposition striker, willing him to come and press.
"They tend to play the same both home and away and they are a team who are quite progressive, playing through the lines.
"And it is not just Watkins and Leon Bailey scoring; they have got goals right throughout the team."
Last time out v Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Olsen; Digne, Lenglet, Carlos, Konsa; Luiz, Iroegbunam; Zaniolo, Rogers, Diaby; Duran
Read the full interview with Daz Hale here
TEAM NEWS
Schade in contention for Villa clash
Forward Kevin Schade could feature for the first time since September against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Germany international stepped up his return from an adductor injury by playing 60 minutes and scoring a penalty in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Leyton Orient on Tuesday.
“Schade could be available and that’s something I need to think about for Saturday,” head coach Thomas Frank revealed in his pre-match press conference.
“It will be very good to have him back. That pace he’s got is incredible. I remember that fantastic action when he put it in the top corner against Crystal Palace at home. That seems like ages ago! So that would be very positive.”
Frank confirmed he has no fresh injury concerns following his side’s goalless draw with Brighton on Wednesday.
“Everyone is in a fine place,” he said.
“There are some tired boys, naturally, after two games and the international week where a lot of them played good minutes, which we are proud of and happy with.
“They will be more than ready for Saturday; it is today they are allowed to be tired.”
Defender Ethan Pinnock (ankle) and midfielder Christian Nørgaard (back) are progressing well but remain sidelined for the Bees’ trip to Villa Park.
Full-back Aaron Hickey (hamstring) is unavailable, while Rico Henry (knee), Josh Dasilva (knee) and Ben Mee (ankle) are out for the remainder of the season.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Bees looking to maintain unbeaten record under Salisbury
Brentford are unbeaten in the Premier League when Michael Salisbury has been the man in the middle.
Influenced to take up the whistle by his father Graham, who ended his own 21-year career as an EFL referee at the end of the 2020/21 season, Salisbury was one of four officials added to the select group one of top-flight referees ahead of last season.
Salisbury's first two Brentford appointments, a 3-0 success at Luton Town and a 1-0 home win over Rotherham United, both came in the Bees' 2020/21 promotion-winning season.
Last campaign’s games ended with two 2-0 wins, over Brighton and Hove Albion in October and against Southampton at St Mary’s, as well as a 1-1 draw with Saturday's opposition Aston Villa.
LAST MEETING
Brentford 1 Aston Villa 2 (Premier League, 17 December 2023)
Two second-half goals were enough to secure a 2-1 win for Aston Villa against Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium.
Keane Lewis-Potter's first Premier League strike put the Bees ahead, before headers in the second 45 minutes from Àlex Moreno and Ollie Watkins completed the turnaround.
There were two red cards after the break, as Ben Mee was sent off for a dangerous tackle, before Boubacar Kamara was dismissed for a headbutt in the closing stages.
Emiliano Martínez was also fortunate to still be on the pitch at full-time after manhandling Neal Maupay.