Having recently been overtaken by their visitors in the Premier League standings, Brentford seek to cut their deficit to in-form Aston Villa when they meet on Saturday.

Now trailing Villa by seven points with as many games remaining, the Bees are outsiders to claim an improbable place in Europe, but Unai Emery's side remain in contention following their fifth win on the spin last weekend.

Match preview

Following a 2-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Wolves last time out, Brentford have now lost each of their last three Premier League games - as many as in their previous 21.

That represents the Bees' worst run since the start of last year and has seen them slip down the table to ninth place, with a coveted top-half finish now in some jeopardy; fellow London clubs Fulham, Chelsea and Crystal Palace are all on their coat-tails.

Having also seen his side keep just one clean sheet during their last 10 league matches, Thomas Frank should have no trouble pinpointing where their frailties lie - quite a concern, considering the form of this week's opponents.

All of which should be taken in context, as though they have not won since seeing off Southampton midway through March, Brentford are still only one win away from matching last season's final points total.

After their disappointment against Wolves, they now tackle another Midlands club on Saturday afternoon and will welcome Aston Villa to Gtech Community Stadium having won each of their last four home games against the Birmingham side - a sequence dating back to 2017.

As they have only failed to score in two of their last 17 Premier League home fixtures, finding the net in each of their last nine, Frank's men may therefore fancy their chances of throwing a spanner into Villa's well-oiled machine.

A 4-0 win at Villa Park in October's reverse fixture was a rare moment of relief for Aston Villa during a troubled first part of their 2022-23 campaign, and it finally ended an eight-game winless run against Brentford in the league.

Villa last did the double over the West London club back in 1947, but recent results under the leadership of Unai Emery suggest that they can now achieve such a feat this weekend.

Surging into the top six of the Premier League table, they have won seven of their last eight matches, keeping six clean sheets and conceding just twice during that run to emerge as genuine European contenders.

Last week's impressive defeat of fellow form side Newcastle United secured a fifth win in a row, and it was back in the very early 1990s when Villa last put together such a streak in the top flight.

After Jacob Ramsey's 11th-minute opener against the Magpies, provided by a wondrous leap and nod-down from Ollie Watkins, the Villans' star striker later bagged a brace himself; taking his recent tally to 11 goals from 12 Premier League games - a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the England forward.

As they have won six of eight away games under Emery in the league, Villa can now travel south with confidence ahead of their latest assignment, and the prospect of maintaining their top-six place should provide plenty of incentive.

Team News

Should Thomas Frank shake up his squad in search of a return to form, Brentford's starting XI could look a little different this week compared to the side which began their loss at Wolves.

Switching back to a three-man defence could prove difficult, though, due to injury absentees; meanwhile, Yoane Wissa and Mikkel Damsgaard head the queue of those pushing for inclusion further forward.

Kristoffer Ajer and Keane Lewis-Potter are both still unavailable for the Bees, while Pontus Jansson's recent thigh injury has not only curtailed his season but also brought the curtain down on a successful stay with the club - the Swedish defender returns to Malmo this summer.

Meanwhile, ex-Brentford pair Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa will feature against their former club on Saturday. Watkins has already matched his best top-flight total of 14 goals this season and now aims to become the first Aston Villa player to score 15 or more times in the Premier League since Christian Benteke 10 years ago.

From an advanced role, Birmingham-born Jacob Ramsey has been involved in five goals from his last five games - as many as in his previous 37 - but midfield colleagues Boubacar Kamara and Philippe Coutinho may not return in time to join him in Villa's matchday squad.

Due to a hamstring problem, Leon Bailey is set to miss out again, while regular right-back Matty Cash is still struggling to recover from a calf injury; Ashley Young deputises for the latter.

Brentford possible starting lineup:
Raya; Hickey, Mee, Pinnock, Henry; Jensen, Norgaard, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Young, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Dendoncker, Luiz; McGinn, Buendia, Ramsey; Watkins

We say: Brentford 2-2 Aston Villa

An open encounter could be in store between two teams not shy about coming forward and imposing themselves. In some regards, the pressure is off in both camps due to a slight sense of overachievement, so a back-and-forth game featuring several goals may eventually end up all square.


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