Overview
Keith Andrews will make his home debut as head coach of Brentford when the "Bees" welcome Aston Villa at Community Getch Stadium.
Both teams have not been able to win all 3 points in the opening round. Brentford fell to Nottingham Forest, while Aston Villa shared points with Newcastle United. That makes this confrontation even more important, as both are hungry for victory to soon create momentum for the new season.
Before succeeding Frank, Andrews was a set-piece coach at Brentford. Ironically, in his debut as head coach, the "Bees" conceded a goal from a corner kick after only 5 minutes in a 1-3 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
The confusion in defense caused Brentford to concede 3 goals in the first half, before Igor Thiago scored an honorary goal with a penalty kick in the 78th minute. This was also his first goal in the Premier League.
Andrews took over after a turbulent summer, with the task of not only maintaining stability but also helping Brentford stay away from relegation. This is something they have done in the last four seasons. However, the defeat in the opening round could see them drop to the red light zone.
With Bryan Mbeumo, Christian Norgaard, Mark Flekken gone and Yoane Wissa absent for a long time, Brentford will face a difficult season.
However, they still have reason to be optimistic ahead of the Aston Villa game, having not lost their first home game in their last nine campaigns (W7 D2). Notably, they scored at least 2 goals in each opening match.
The challenge for Andrews is Aston Villa - an opponent that Brentford have not won in the last 6 Premier League confrontations (2 draws, 4 losses). The Bees have also failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight meetings with Villa, including a 1-0 home defeat last season.
Premier League fans had to wait until the fourth match of the 2025-2026 season to witness the first 0-0 draw, when Aston Villa held Newcastle to a draw at Villa Park despite playing with one less player. Center back Ezri Konsa received a direct red card in the second half, but the "Magpies" could not take advantage.
This match showed that Villa's attack is still quite stuck. Unai Emery's side have only had three shots on target in 90 minutes - their lowest tally in the Premier League since May 2024.
The biggest consolation was the solid performance of rookie Marco Bizot. The 34-year-old goalkeeper is also the only new face in a squad that is all too familiar, especially after Villa parted ways with Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Jacob Ramsey.
The bright spot for Emery lies in a 19-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League (W11 D8) - the longest in the history of the tournament. This is the foundation for Villa to confidently aim for the away trip against Brentford. Notably, they have won both of their most recent visits to the Bees.
However, the biggest concern is the scarcity of goals. Including a 0-2 defeat to Manchester United in the penultimate round last season, Villa are currently going through 2 consecutive failed matches in the Premier League.
This is only the second time this has happened under Emery. And if they don't improve soon, they are at risk of re-set a negative milestone from July 2020, under coach Dean Smith.
Personnel situation
Brentford entered the match against Aston Villa with significant personnel losses. Vitaly Janelt and Gustavo Nunes are definitely absent, but Andrews could welcome the return of Ethan Pinnock, Paris Maghoma and Yunes Emre Konak.
Mikkel Damsgaard is also ready to return to play after being absent from the away trip to City Ground. In addition, the possibility of striker Yoane Wissa playing is still uncertain.
On the other side of the front line, Aston Villa will be without Ezri Konsa due to suspension after a red card in the previous round. Meanwhile, Andres Garcia and Ross Barkley are unlikely to recover in time to feature.
Although Marcobizot played impressively in his debut match, he will likely have to make way for number one goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Expected lineup:
Brentford: Kelleher, Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Henry, Jensen, Henderson, Damsgaard, Lewis- Potter, Thiago, Schade.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Torres, Mings, Digne, Kamara, Onana, McGinn, Tielemans, Rogers, Watkins.
The match between Brentford and Aston Villa takes place at 9:00 p.m. on August 23 (Vietnam time).
