Brentford vs Aston Villa

Brentford and Aston Villa go head-to-head in their maiden Premier League encounter at the Brentford Community Stadium.

Brentford closed 2021 out on a run of three successive defeats ‘to nil’ across all competitions and will aim to improve in the new calendar year. Coming back to the Brentford Community Stadium, where they haven’t drawn any of their last six Premier League games (W2, L4), could be a good omen. Though this will be their first-ever Premier League home meeting with Aston Villa, the ‘Bees’ will draw confidence from winning their last three league H2Hs on home turf. Thomas Frank’s men have kept a clean sheet twice in that three-game sequence, which has been the case just twice in nine top-flight outings at the Brentford Community Stadium this season. Indeed, Brentford’s lackluster entries have seen them concede first in 66.66% of their home league matches this term (6/9).

In the meantime, new boss Steven Gerrard has got his Aston Villa tenure off to a flying start, winning back-to-back Premier League fixtures upon replacing Dean Smith at the helm. However, the ‘Lions’ have since struggled with inconsistent performances, as they’ve alternated between winning and losing across their last five Premier League matches (W2, L3). Scoring first would optimize Villa’s hopes of winning here, with three of their previous four Premier League away games won/lost seeing the victor keep a clean sheet (W2, L2). After beating Crystal Palace 2-1 in their most recent top-flight visit to London, Villa will be looking to post consecutive league wins in the capital for only the second time in their last nine Premier League campaigns. Interestingly, since drawing 1-1 with Brentford in the reverse fixture back in August, none of Villa’s subsequent 15 league games have ended level.