Brentford welcome Aston Villa to the Gtech Community Stadium for their first home game of the 2025-26 Premier League season on Saturday 23rd August at 3pm. Both teams failed to muster a win on the opening weekend, and below you can find our match preview and best bets for the game in West London.
Aston Villa to Win (11/10 with BOYLE Sports)
It has been a far from ideal start to the season for Brentford, who now look set to lose Yoane Wissa after the departures of Christian Norgaard and Bryan Mbeumo. The Bees were beaten 3-1 on the road by Nottingham Forest last weekend, and now face a Villa side who will be eager to get off the mark after a goalless draw with Newcastle. Unai Emery may have the inexperienced Keith Andrews’ number in what could be a convincing away win for the Villans.
Ollie Watkins to score first (9/2 with BOYLE Sports)
Ollie Watkins has a superb record against Brentford in recent years. The Aston Villa talisman has scored in all of his last four Premier League outings against the Bees, and in total has six goals against his former employers in just seven appearances.
How both teams go into Brentford vs Aston Villa
Brentford’s new boss Keith Andrews, previously the club’s set-piece coach, will have his first audition in front of their home crowd after his sides opening weekend defeat to Nottingham Forest.
The Bees have experienced significant squad changes over the summer. Notably, key players such as goalkeeper Mark Flekken, captain Christian Norgaard, and forward Bryan Mbeumo have left the club.
The latter is particularly meaningful, as Mbeumo made one half of a lethal partnership with Yoane Wissa, who is also linked with a move away. Many have tipped Brentford to be in a relegation battle this season. They will be keen to dismiss such a notion in these early weeks, coming off the back of their second-best Premier League finish ever.
Aston Villa finished sixth in the Premier League last season, securing a place in the Europa League. Villa will be looking to build on that success and challenge for European qualification once again. Their attack, strengthened by the addition of Evann Guessand, will need to find another gear if they hope to do so.
Unai Emery’s men could only manage a goalless draw with Newcastle at Villa Park last weekend, although they were down to ten for the final 15 minutes of the game.
Brentford team news
A plethora of Brentford players are close to returning from injuries, with most of them picking up knocks in pre-season. These include: Vitaly Janelt, Gustavo Nunes, Kevin Schade, Caoimhin Kelleher, Sepp van den Berg, Jordan Henderson, Ethan Pinnock and Josh Dasilva.
Aston Villa team news
Morgan Rogers is a doubt, while Andres Garcia and Ross Barkley are expected to be out.
Brentford vs Aston Villa head-to-head
Brentford have beaten Villa just once in their last seven matchups – at the Gtech Community Stadium in 2022. This is the only time the Bees have ever beaten Villa in the Premier League.
| Date | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 08/03/25 | Brentford 0-1 Aston Villa | Premier League |
| 04/12/24 | Aston Villa 3-1 Brentford | Premier League |
| 06/04/24 | Aston Villa 3-3 Brentford | Premier League |
| 17/12/23 | Brentford 1-2 Aston Villa | Premier League |
| 22/04/23 | Brentford 1-1 Aston Villa | Premier League |