Aston Villa head out on the road for the first time in nearly three weeks as they take on Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. Fresh off the back of yet another victory, Unai Emery’s men are beaming with confidence with the top six fight very much on.
Last time out, it was a dominant 3-0 win as Newcastle United were shocked at Villa Park. The Lions played brilliantly from start to finish as Emery’s game plan unfolded with perfect execution. Now, it’s all about maintaining the momentum with another tough fixture to come.
With three defeats in a row and no win in five, Brentford may not be in the best run of form at current, but they remain a threat. On their day, the Bees can beat anyone and especially when star man Ivan Toney is firing. The striker is their top scorer this campaign with 18 in the league, making him a real danger.
Villa are still without Matty Cash, Boubacar Kamara, Philippe Coutinho and Leon Bailey this weekend but they’ve done well in their absence. Emery will likely line up with a very similar - if not identical - formation to the win over Newcastle, with some decisions to be made for key men recently left on the bench.
From the goalkeeper through to the striker, here’s our predicted XI for the trip to Brentford Community Stadium.
1. Aston Villa predicted starting lineup vs Brentford
Here are the 11 players we think Emery will go with on Saturday.
2. GK - Emi Martinez
Clean sheets in four of his last five matches and is looking totally undroppable with some top performances of late.
3. RB - Ashley Young
His leadership has been important of late and with Matty Cash still ruled out with a thigh injury, he seems the best bet.
4. CB - Ezri Konsa
Simply cannot be dropped in his current form, meaning Emery has to keep £30 million signing Diego Carlos on the bench.