Aston Villa vs Brentford Prediction: Betting Tips & Odds

Aston Villa welcome Brentford to Villa Park at 3am NZT on Sunday, and the Premier League table looks upside down after five games.

Villa have four points from five games. Brentford are fourth on nine and still unbeaten after thrashing Chelsea 3-0 before the international break.

In this Aston Villa vs Brentford preview, I go through both sides’ form and team news. I don’t trust either team enough to back a straight win, so my bet covers two of the three results and pays close to $3 - it’s the one I’d take to the football betting sites this weekend.

Aston Villa

I’m not convinced Villa’s win at Tottenham fixed much.

They won 3-2 in north London on 19 September. Johan Manzambi pounced in first-half stoppage time on his first start. Nicolas Jackson doubled the lead midway through the second half before Emiliano Buendia smashed in a third from 22 yards.

But Spurs are bottom of the table, and they still pulled two goals back late on. Before that afternoon, Villa had scored once in four league games.

Their home form worries me more. Villa won 11 in a row at Villa Park last season before Everton ended the run in January, and they’ve already lost both league games there this time, to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

There’s plenty to like about the new midfield, for me. Joao Gomes has slotted in next to Boubacar Kamara, and Manzambi gives them a runner from deep they didn’t have in the opening weeks. I just don’t know how quickly this group clicks against a side as organised as Brentford.

Team News: Onana, Maatsen, Goretzka and Madjo are out. Torres and Bizot are doubts.

Predicted Lineup: Suzuki; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Mings, Ruggeri; Kamara, Gomes; McGinn, Buendia, Manzambi; Jackson.

Brentford

Brentford are a nightmare to play against right now.

They frustrated Chelsea for 45 minutes on 18 September and then took them apart after the break. Jaidon Anthony opened the scoring from a corner just after the hour. Igor Thiago tucked away a rebound for his first league goal of the season, and substitute Fabio Carvalho added a third in stoppage time.

Kevin Schade was the best player on the pitch for me. He forced the save from Emiliano Martinez that Thiago followed in, then crossed for Carvalho, and Villa’s full-backs are in for a long afternoon if he’s in that mood.

Away from home they’ve been harder to read. They drew at Leeds and Bournemouth, and Jannik Schuster has come into a back line missing two first-choice centre-backs.

Anyone backing them on the best punting app is getting the form team at a price that treats this as a coin flip.

Team News: Collins, Van den Berg, Jensen, Dasilva, Milambo and Furo are out. Damsgaard and Ouattara are doubts.

Predicted Lineup: Kelleher; Kayode, Ajer, Schuster, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Yarmolyuk; Anthony, Carvalho, Schade; Thiago.

• Brentford won both Premier League meetings last season 1-0.
• Villa have won four of their 10 Premier League meetings with Brentford.
• Brentford have their best start to a Premier League season after five games.
• Their highest-scoring meeting was a 3-3 draw at Villa Park in April 2024.
• Brentford’s last away league win came at Burnley in February.

I can see this ending level.

Villa need a result more than Brentford do, and they’ll have most of the ball at home. But that suits the visitors fine. Brentford were happy to defend deep against Chelsea and punish them on the break, and I expect a similar plan here.

I’ll admit I’ve gone back and forth on Villa. There’s real quality in this squad, and a three-week break might be exactly what a group with so many new faces needed. If Manzambi and Jackson pick up where they left off at Tottenham, I could look silly here.

Still, I can’t back a side that’s lost both home games to beat the form team.

Thiago looked a different player once he’d scored against Chelsea, and I don’t see Villa’s patched-up back four shutting him out for 90 minutes. Goals at both ends feel likely to me. I’m going 1-1, and I’d rather be on BTTS than the match result.

Brentford Double Chance and Both Teams to Score @ $2.75

Brentford have scored in every one of their last seven Premier League games, a run stretching back to May.

They’ve also drawn five of their last seven league games on the road, which is why I want the draw covered rather than backing them outright. And Villa have conceded in four of their five league games, so a Brentford blank looks unlikely.

At $2.75, I’m happy with the price, and if Villa go ahead early, the best live sports betting sites should offer bigger odds on the same combo.