ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - ASTON VILLA VS BRENTFORD

English Premier

2026-02-01 - Aston Villa vs Brentford

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Aston Villa v Brentford
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 1st February 2025 - Kick Off 2pm
This game is live on TV

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Aston Villa

Qualification for the Europa League Last 16 had been confirmed before Match Day 8 so it was a surprise to see Ollie Watkins leading the line for Aston Villa. Unai Emery may have felt he had no choice with his squad stretched by injury and reinforcements only just arriving, but the manager and the fans will be frustrated by the injury picked up by Watkins ahead of another busy month.

Avoiding having two European Knock Out ties added to the February schedule is important for Aston Villa, but this is still a difficult time with the injuries being managed. The three points earned last weekend has kept Aston Villa in 3rd place in the Premier League table, but they were also able to close to 4 points behind leaders Arsenal, who are playing a day before this fixture is going to kick off.

Aston Villa were very disappointing when losing 0-1 at home against Everton and Unai Emery was clearly very upset, but the squad have bounced back to win 3 in a row in all competitions. They came from 0-2 behind to beat Salzburg at Villa Park on Thursday and that result means Aston Villa have won 12 of the last 13 home games in all competitions.

John McGinn, Youri Tielemens and Boubacar Kamara are all out for the foreseeable future, while Ross Barkley is not expected to be quite ready to join the squad. Ollie Watkins has to be considered a doubt at the very least.

Brentford

The Premier League has been a Division filled with streaky results and performances from teams in the middle of the standings and Brentford are currently on a slump. Keith Andrews will not be too disappointed with the performance levels in the last couple of Premier League games, but wasteful finishing has proven to be costly for Brentford in losing to Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.

Those two defeats have seen Brentford slip from 5th in the Premier League table to 8th, but there are still real hopes that this is the season that will bring European Football to this part of West London. The Bees head to the West Midlands with a 3-0-8 away record in the top flight and Brentford have scored 12 goals and conceded 20 in those matches.

Brentford had won 5 of 6 games in an unbeaten run, but that has now been replaced by consecutive Premier League defeats by the same 2-0 scoreline. They had won 3 away games in a row in all competitions before the unfortunate defeat at Stamford Bridge a couple of weeks ago.

Kristoffer Ajer and Mikkel Damsgaard both picked up knocks last week, but the manager is hopeful that both will be able to travel.

Head to Head

Brentford beat Aston Villa at the Gtech Community Stadium 1-0 in the Premier League in August.

A month later, these clubs met in the League Cup Third Round at the same Stadium and the game ended 1-1 before Brentford came through on Penalties.

Aston Villa are unbeaten in 11 home games against Brentford and they have won 2 of the last 3 at Villa Park against this opponent.

Prediction

There are a couple of days left in the transfer window and you have to believe Aston Villa are going to try and bring in a couple more squad players to bolster the options available to Unai Emery.

If it wasn't for the injuries in the squad, Aston Villa fans would be dreaming of a really special season, but Emery is a little concerned that his team will run out of energy.

With that being said, it was a surprise that the side selected on Thursday was stronger than anticipated and the injury picked up by Ollie Watkins is another blow.

For this fixture, Aston Villa have to go in with what they have and there is still enough quality to get the better of Brentford, especially at Villa Park.

Nothing will come easy against Keith Andrews' team, but Brentford have suffered consecutive 2-0 defeats in the Premier League. They are well rested, but Brentford have struggled away from home for much of the season and they have not enjoyed recent visits to Villa Park, which are factors that could make a difference in the outcome.

Brentford had won 3 away games in a row in all competitions before the defeat at Stamford Bridge and they do have pace to cause problems for the hosts.

However, Aston Villa should have a more settled backline for this one, while Douglas Luiz gives them an extra body in the middle of the park. Tammy Abraham has Premier League experience, which will help if he is going to be asked to lead the line in the absence of Watkins, and the likes of Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia have the creativity to give the home team an edge.

They were beaten in the last Premier League game played here, but Aston Villa have recovered from that defeat to Everton and they can do just enough to make odds against quotes pay for the home win.

The Pick :

Aston Villa 2-1 Brentford

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Aston Villa to Win at 2.00 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)