Brentford host Aston Villa this Sunday (2pm kick-off) with Unai Emery's side currently riding the crest of a wave.

Back-to-back 1-0 wins over Arsenal and Manchester City have moved the Midlanders up to third in the Premier League table and, for the first time in a long time, Villa are regarded by many as potential title contenders.

The Bees head into the weekend in 11th following a 1-0 loss at Sheffield United last time out.

Pre-match Analysis

Brentford must be wary of returning Watkins

The foundation for Aston Villa's fantastic surge of late has undoubtedly been their home form and the Villans are currently on a staggering 15-game winning streak on their own patch.

Eight wins from eight home games tells its own story in the Premier League this season, and 24 of their 35 points this term have been won at Villa Park.

Sunday's game will see striker Ollie Watkins return to his old club in what will be only his second visit to Brentford as an opposing player. Now 27, the England international drew 1-1 against the Bees in Villa's Premier League visit to Gtech Community Stadium last April.

Since leaving west London in September 2020, Watkins has developed into one of the top flight's most lethal finishers and his evolution under Emery has been impressive.

Spearheading the Premier League's third-most potent attack, Watkins has fired home eight goals and supplied six assists so far this season to be the most productive English player in the division.

In fact, only Man City's bionic Erling Haaland (14G, 4A) and Liverpool's Mo Salah (11G, 7A) have been directly involved in more Premier League goals than Watkins, who is second only to the aforementioned Norwegian when it comes to attempted shots on goal this season.

Thomas Frank's Bees should brace themselves for a fast start from their visitors on Sunday, as Villa have scored more goals (13) within the first 30 minutes of games than any team in the Premier League so far this season.

Notably, Villa are also the only top flight team yet to concede a goal in the 15 minutes before the interval (31-45 minutes).

While Brentford often target opponents from close range, a feature of Villa's game so far this season has been their sharp shooting from distance: no team has scored more Premier League goals from outside the box than the Villans (6) in 2023/24.

Defensively strong, Villa are excellent in transition and yet to concede on the counter attack this season. Further, only Man City and Arsenal (both 8.3) have limited their opposition to fewer shots per game this season than Villa (10.6).

Brentford will look for chinks in their in-form opponents' armour this Sunday, however, and Villa's away form is fallible.

Emery’s side have only scored 10 of their 35 Premier League goals (29 per cent) on their travels and they have also shipped 15 goals on the road leaving them with an away goal difference of -5.

With Brentford traditionally strong at the Gtech, it promises to be a tactically intriguing tussle with Watkins' return adding further spice to an already tasty encounter.

Scout Report

Emery inspires remarkable revival at Villa Park

It seems unthinkable now but, during the opening months of last season, it is fair to say Aston Villa were spiralling.

Steven Gerrard helped them maintain a solid mid-table position after taking over from Dean Smith in November 2021 but, at the start of September last year, his side were second bottom of the Premier League after four defeats from their opening five games.

There was a slight improvement in the month that followed but, on 20 October, Villa suffered their sixth defeat of the season when they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage. “The performance was miles away from what I want, expect and stand for,” said an understandably downcast Gerrard. “Football is in my DNA, quitting certainly isn’t. We’ll see what happens moving forward.”

The next day he was sacked after less than a year in charge. Two days after that, Unai Emery was appointed after Aston Villa reportedly paid more than £5 million to release the Spaniard from his contract at Villarreal.

It was not until 1 November that he officially took over and, in the meantime, caretaker manager Aaron Danks oversaw a 4-0 win over Brentford and a 4-0 defeat at Newcastle.

The arrival of serial winner Emery lifted the mood around the place to no end, not least because he won his first two games in charge. With the World Cup break in which to fully implement his methods, after it, Villa thrived - well, after three wins, one draw and three defeats at the start of the year.

Villa won 10 of their final 15 Premier League games and, all of a sudden, broke into European contention. A draw with Liverpool in the penultimate game of the season lifted them to seventh, with a win over Brighton on the final day securing a place in the Europa Conference League play-off round. Emery had inspired a stunning recovery.

To say they have carried the momentum into this term would be a vast understatement.

In the Europa Conference League, they thumped Hibernian 8-0 on aggregate to earn a place in the group stage, and they have qualified for the knockouts already, following four-straight wins that followed a narrow 3-2 defeat away at Legia Warsaw on the opening matchday in September.

Back home in the Premier League, Emery’s men have done nothing short of an incredible job to date. They have picked up 35 of the 48 points on offer so far to climb up to third ahead of Sunday’s match, having seen off Arsenal and Manchester City in their last two matches.

They are priced 16/1 for the title at the time of writing, but Emery is keeping schtum on those prospects. “I will speak again when we are in game 30, 32 and, if we are in the same position as now, then maybe I can speak about it,” he said after the win against former club Arsenal.

But it is hard to argue against the fact Aston Villa have already passed a big test in beating three of the other four teams currently sitting in the top five - and how refreshing it is that there is not only a wide-open title race, but an outsider very much in the mix as the winter break approaches.

In the Dugout

Unai Emery

Having taken charge of more than 970 matches in 19 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, Emery 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 Almeria 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.

Emery returned to Spain in January 2013 and went on to guide 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.

Emery guided the Gunners to the final in 2019, where they were beaten by Chelsea in Baku, Azerbaijan, but he was unable to help them finish higher than fifth for the first time in four seasons.

Emery was sacked after 18 months at Emirates Stadium 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 then 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 John Townley of Birmingham Live

John Townley of Birmingham Live explains how Unai Emery is likely to set up his Aston Villa side at Gtech Community Stadium:

“He has two options: whether he plays three centre-backs or a back four against Brentford.

“I would predict that he will go with the same team which saw off Manchester City and Arsenal last week - why change a winning team capable of beating last season’s top two in the space of 72 hours?

“In that case, Diego Carlos could partner Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres at the back. Youri Tielemans could also move into a deeper role to replace Luiz.

“Further forward, John McGinn will support Watkins and [Leon] Bailey, while Emery also has the options of Jacob Ramsey and Moussa Diaby to call on.”

Read the full interview with John Townley here

Team News

Mbeumo out for three months; Collins could return

Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo will be sidelined for three months following an operation on his ankle.

Mbeumo, who has 10 goal contributions in 15 Premier League games this season, limped off during the Bees' 2-1 Premier League defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion earlier this month.

“[Mbeumo] will not participate in the Africa Cup of Nations,” head coach Thomas Frank confirmed.

“Bryan is a positive guy. It’s tough to take, but he will come back stronger. He has a very good mindset.”

Midfielder Mathias Jensen (adductor) will also miss Aston Villa’s visit to Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday but could return for the Bees’ game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 27 December.

Frank is hopeful that Josh Dasilva, who hasn’t appeared for Brentford since the 3-0 victory at Fulham in August due to a hamstring injury, could feature against Wolves in the Emirates FA Cup on 5 January.

Match Officials

Coote to referee Villa visit

Referee: David Coote

Assistants: Timothy Wood and Mark Scholes

Fourth Official: Simon Hooper

VAR: Craig Pawson

Nottinghamshire FA referee David Coote will be the man in charge on Sunday afternoon.

Coote, the son of former Nottinghamshire CCC batsman David Edward Coote, started refereeing as a 16-year-old, working his way up from the Notts Alliance League to the Conference North, before his promotion to the Football League list in 2010.

In May 2014, he was the referee for the League One play-off final at Wembley between Leyton Orient and Rotherham United and took charge of his first Premier League game in April 2018.

Coote has officiated seven games this term, showing 29 yellow cards and one red.

Last Premier League Meeting

Brentford 1 Aston Villa 1 (22 April 2023)

Douglas Luiz’s 87th-minute goal earned Aston Villa a share of the spoils at Gtech Community Stadium.

After an even opening 45 minutes, Brentford were far the better side after the break and deservedly took the lead when Ivan Toney fired home Bryan Mbeumo’s deep cross just past the hour mark.

Thomas Frank’s side had other chances - Kevin Schade, Mbeumo and Frank Onyeka passing up the best of them - and were punished late on as Luiz converted from six yards out in the closing stages.