At A Glance
Steven Gerrard returns to the dugout on Sunday afternoon as Aston Villa kick-off 2022 with a Premier League game away at Brentford.
After completing his isolation period, the head coach is looking to inspire a response from his side after their 3-1 loss to Chelsea on Boxing Day.
Gerrard has won two of three away games since taking charge of the club, the latest being a 2-0 success against Norwich City.
Opponents Brentford have lost their last two top-flight tilts without scoring, going down 2-0 at Brighton before Manchester City beat them 1-0.
The Bees’ Premier League form at Brentford Community Stadium this season has been patchy, with only Norwich and Watford losing more home games than Brentford’s five.
Ivan Toney, who scored at Villa Park in the reverse fixture, is joint top scorer with five goals alongside Marcus Forss and Yoane Wissa.
Standout Stats
Brentford are unbeaten in their last seven league games against Aston Villa (W3 D4), with all three of their victories coming in home games.
After winning their first three away league games against Brentford (between 1935 and 1947), Aston Villa have lost their last three visits to the Bees in league competition (between 2017 and 2019).
Aston Villa have won four of their last five Premier League away games against promoted sides (L1), more than they had in their previous 22 such games in the competition (W3 D8 L11).
Aston Villa won 2-1 against Crystal Palace in their last Premier League game in London. Only once in their last eight campaigns in the competition (since 2011-12) have the Villans won consecutive games in the capital, winning at Fulham and Arsenal last season.
Brentford won their first league game in both 2020 (4-0 v Bristol City) and 2021 (1-0 v Luton), last doing so in three consecutive calendar years between 1990 and 1992.
Aston Villa have lost their first league game in three of the last six calendar years (2016, 2017 and 2021), more than they had between 1995 and 2015 combined (W9 D10 L2).
Aston Villa haven’t drawn any of their last 15 Premier League games since a 1-1 draw with Brentford in the reverse fixture back in August. It’s the Villans’ longest run without a league draw since a run of 16 games between January and May 1998.
Brentford have lost five home Premier League games this season; only fellow promoted clubs Norwich (7) and Watford (6) have suffered more defeats on home soil in the 2021-22 competition.
None of Aston Villa’s nine Premier League away games this season has finished level (W3 L6), with two of their three victories on the road coming in their three such games under Steven Gerrard.
Emiliano Buendía has either scored (3) or assisted (1) a goal in all four of his league games against Brentford, with the Argentine netting his first goal for Aston Villa in the reverse fixture back in August.
The Last Meeting
Emiliano Buendia struck a superb equaliser for Aston Villa as Brentford held out for a 1-1 draw at Villa Park in August.
Ivan Toney netted with just seven minutes on the clock and despite Villa’s swift response, there were no more goals in a hard-fought encounter.
Ollie Watkins threatened to be the match winner against his old side late on, but both sides were made to settle for a point.
Team News
Ashley Young (fractured toe) faces a race to be fit in time for the match, while Leon Bailey and Marvelous Nakamba are out.
Captain Tyrone Mings is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.
Brentford's Christian Norgaard can return after serving a one-game ban of his own, while Bryan Mbuemo and Kristoffer Ajer are in contention after injury.
The Boss
“We’re on the back of a disappointing result, but a performance that had a lot of positives within it. I’m looking for a response and a reaction from that defeat. We’re going into a tough environment, a new stadium, a crowd that stays behind the team whatever happens. They did themselves proud with their performance against City. They’ve got some dangerous individuals in their team, but they’re very much a team. There’s not much ego in the Brentford squad, so there’s much to admire about them.”
Steven Gerrard