Aston Villa v Brentford Premier League injury news as 9 ruled out and 5 doubts

Aston Villa and Brentford meet at Villa Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides were in action on Wednesday night. Villa suffered a 4-1 defeat to Man City whilst the Bees played to a goalless draw with Brighton.

The result for Villa meant they missed the chance to make a bigger gap between themselves and Spurs in the race for a Champions League spot. Brentford meanwhile are now six points above the relegation zone.

Ahead of the match, Villa have won two of their last three league games against them, having been winless in eight games against the West London outfit. Brentford have never won away at Villa Park in the league, losing three and drawing five. 

The schedule of midweek fixtures meant that both managers were forced into making changes. Here is the latest injury and team news ahead of the pre-match press conferences.

Aston Villa team news

Ollie Watkins remains a doubt after missing his first league game of the campaign. Villa’s talisman did not play at the Etihad after sustaining a hamstring injury last weekend. He is now at risk of missing out on playing against one of his former clubs.

Emi Martinez was another absentee on Wednesday evening. He was initially named in the starting XI but had to withdraw through illness. 

Martinez was suffering from a stomach bug but is expected to take his place between the sticks on Saturday. Robin Olsen took his place with January signing Joe Gauci playing the role of backup goalkeeper. 

Unai Emery also played down fears of an injury to Nicolo Zaniolo. He was substituted off after holding up his upper leg but it is only regarded as a knock from a heavy impact tackle. 

Pau Torres, Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans were all benched against the champions. Unai Emery revealed that they did not start because he wanted to rest them during a busy fixture schedule. 

Emi Buendia, Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are all out with long-term injuries. Buendia and Mings got injured in August and are in their final stages of recovery whilst Kamara suffered his in February. 

Matty Cash is out with a hamstring injury after getting injured while playing for Poland. He's expected to come back in the next fortnight. 

Jacob Ramsey was not rushed back to play for Villa after the international break. He is nursing a foot injury that has ravaged his campaign. 

John McGinn is back in contention after serving a suspension. He was forced to miss three games after getting red-carded against Spurs.

Brentford team news

The Bees have endured a difficult season in terms of injuries. Several players have been out with long-term injuries and that has meant they’ve had to battle on without key personnel.

Things could get better at the weekend with Christian Norgaard and Ethan Pinnock potentially returning. The pair were described as ‘tight’ last weekend and have been given a 25% chance of featuring at Villa Park.

Kevin Schade has resumed full training with Brentford and won’t be too far away. It’s probably too soon for him to play against Villa but he could play next weekend. 

Aaron Hickey has a hamstring injury which puts him out until mid-May. He could return for the final few fixtures.

Brentford have several players out now until the summer and beyond. Ben Mee joined the treatment room after fracturing his ankle against West Ham and was ruled out in early March.

Rico Henry required surgery for a knee injury and has been out since September. Josh Dasilva had surgery for a similar problem in February and will return at around the same time.