Aston Villa face a tough test away at Brentford on Saturday afternoon, with Unai Emery and his side looking to keep our superb form going.
With seven wins in our last eight Premier League games and five on the bounce coming into this encounter, confidence and belief will be high as we’ve climbed to sixth place in the standings.
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That run has built up hopes of qualification for European football for next season, but ultimately the message from Emery and the players has consistently been that they’re just focused on the next match.
Despite Brentford’s poor recent form, they have been strong at home this season, and so this will be a massive test for us as we look to not only continue to apply pressure on those above us in the table, but continue to keep the likes of Thomas Frank’s side firmly behind us as we look to secure a top-half finish now as a minimum objective.
Emery confirmed in midweek that Matty Cash, Boubacar Kamara, Philippe Coutinho and Leon Bailey all remain sidelined due to injury, and so the expectation coming into this game was that Villa would be unchanged.
That proved to be the case, as seen in the club’s tweet below, as we’ve gone with the same starting line-up that faced Newcastle last time out, and so it’s hoped that the same XI can replicate the level of performance they produced in that win in this encounter with Brentford, and hopefully that will be enough to get a positive result.
The balance in that midfield will be key again as we look to control the tempo of the game and dominate possession, and we’ll undoubtedly need to show quality at both ends of the pitch when needed to come away with another big win.
While it’s always a blow not being without key individuals, even if only fit enough for the bench to give us depth, the consistency and familiarity in the side will hopefully be a big strength again this week as we look to keep our momentum going.
Your Aston Villa today. 👊 #BREAVL pic.twitter.com/rcNOmfSoNa
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 22, 2023