Brentford head up to Villa Park on Wednesday evening, looking to capitalise on the home side’s relatively sparse run of recent Premier League joy. Nick Bruzon previews.
The Villans haven’t won in eight games overall, with their last win in the top flight a defeat of Fulham back in mid-October. Their most recent run out being Sunday’s 3-0 reverse at Chelsea. That a game which, losing aside, has thrown up a major injury concern surrounding goalkeeper Emi Martínez.
He was subbed out halfway through the game at Stamford Bridge with a hand injury, to be replaced by back-up ‘keeper Robin Olsen. There is now serious cause for concern as to whether World Cup winner Martínez, arguably one of the greatest in the modern game, will be available to face The Bees.
Not surprisingly, manager Unai Emery is keeping his cards close to the chest on this one. Tuesday’s press conference may reveal more but these things are generally a case of smoke and mirrors. Fantasy Football Scout rates the player as 75% although that would seem more like their way of saying ‘no idea either’. With automatic qualification for the Champions League knockout stages still well in their grasp, might Villa elect to play it safe if there is any doubt over his fitness?
His absence would be a major boost for Brentford although Swedish international Olsen is no mug. You don’t win 75 caps just by turning up to training on time. Besides, we all know the other strengths Villa possess. Emery has transformed them from relegation candidates to genuine contenders to be amongst the best in Europe.
This current blip in form is, I have no doubt, only a temporary thing. Likewise, you have to compare it to their own standards in recent seasons which saw them finish fourth last campaign then start very strongly this time around. Up until the point where things started to wobble following the game with Fulham, their only reverse had been on the road – at Arsenal.
For Brentford, the injury doubt is over Mathias Jensen. His departure before half-time during Saturday’s demolition of hapless Leicester City was, one hopes, nothing more than precautionary. With the squad by and large fit, Thomas Frank had enough options available to protect a player who is vital to what Brentford do. There’s just no point taking a risk during a period of three games in eight days that culminates in the visit of Newcastle United.
That Leicester game – one which saw Brentford temporarily climb to within three points of second place in the Premier League table – saw the Bees at their scintillating best. If we’re being honest, the return of Kevin Schade to the starting XI surprised more than a few people but what a way to repay his manager’s faith. Three goals and an assist seeing the player produce a performance we’ll never forget.
It is one which now presents our head coach the nicest of problems. Does he go for more of the same and start ultra-attacking or play it a bit safer away from home? Brentford may be on fire at The Gtech (no team has got more points at home this season) but we all know how things have been on the road.
There’s only the point at Everton to show for our troubles – although the calibre of the oppositions faced so far, and also Fulham, show what a tough sequence this has been. Something has to go in our favour at some point and Thomas Frank may well surprise us all by looking to pick up where he left off last time out.
Certainly, being too cautious hasn’t overly helped and with Villa’s own league form feeling abject – even if temporary – I suspect he will look to take advantage of the opportunity this presents.
For those travelling, be safe. For those picking this one up on Amazon Prime, don’t forget it is a somewhat unusual 20:15 kick-off. Never let it be said that fans and players take priority over broadcasters…
Whichever way you follow the game, enjoy. Victory could see Brentford challenging for the Champions League spots from our current position of eighth in the Premier League. That in itself, a sentence which feels utterly ridiculous to those of us slightly longer in the tooth.
But this is a Brentford team who are where they are on merit. Who haven’t bought their way to the top but done this over a long period of time. Who have invested shrewdly to get that little bit better season on season. A team on a constant upward trajectory who have only gone on to score more goals than ever since the sale of Ivan Toney.
Winning at Villa Park may seem a brutally tough challenge on the face of it but the one thing we have all learned is that this team continues to surprise, no matter how rigorous the test.
Here’s to that mantra being continued on Wednesday night.
