Sky is the limit for ‘relentless’ Brentford ahead of Villa test, says Frank

Brentford boss Thomas Frank believes the sky is the limit for his players after they saw off Leicester City last time out to move up to eighth in the Premier League.

A hat-trick from Kevin Schade and a goal from Yoane Wissa gave the Bees their sixth win of the season last Saturday, all on home ground, more than they managed in the entire 2023/24 season (five).

Brentford also became the first team to score more than 20 goals at home in the Premier League this season. After seven home games, it is the first in a league season that they have scored more than 20 home goals since 1982-83 (also seven), and the first in the top flight since 1936-37 (also seven).

Although their absence leaves much to be desired, with a midweek trip to Aston Villa for the Bees next, Frank is confident his players can push to finish in the European places.

“As high as possible. We are very happy with the season so far and always think about what we can improve. Even this match there are things we can do better, but football is tough. We celebrate today and will train again tomorrow ”, said Frank.

“It was a very good performance, probably our best performance overall this year. I think we controlled and dominated the game from the first minute until the end of the game. They went 1-0 up, but we were just ruthless.

“This group of players has a top mentality, a top character and a top culture. You have to have that rebound mentality, not only after a game you lose, but also in games.”

A Super Saturday pic.twitter.com/242yT9hMmI

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) November 30, 2024

Villa, meanwhile, had a difficult day at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, losing 3-0 to Chelsea to drop to the bottom half of the Premier League table.

The Villans are now winless in their last five consecutive top-flight games under Steven Gerrard for the first time since August 2022. This current form is also the longest run without a win in the Premier League (five – tied with Everton and Leicester).

However, Unai Emery insisted he was happy with his side's performances this season, both domestically and in the Champions League, but acknowledged improvements were needed.

“We fully believe in our work. We enjoy the Champions League and in the competition we are more or less where we were [last season]” said Emery. “Our challenge is to fight Brentford on Wednesday and see what our level is with Brentford.

“There are still games to play and we will regain our confidence and try to build the team. We have to try to be better than we are now. We can do better individually.

“At the beginning of the season we can feel that some teams were better than us, and one of them is Chelsea. We try to keep the balance and not get frustrated.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins

Against Crystal Palace, Watkins became the first Villa player to score 50 goals in Premier League home games (35 goals, 15 assists).

His 35 goals are the second most by a Villa player at Villa Park, behind only Dwight Yorke (37), and the England international will hope to add to that tally on Wednesday.

Brentford – Kevin Damage

While the likes of Bryan Mbeumo and Wissa received plaudits for their start to the season, the Bees were able to showcase the depth of their attacking talent against Leicester, none more so than Schade.

He became the fourth German player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League last time out against the Foxes, with his three goals in that match more than he had managed in his previous 41 appearances in the competition combined (two).

4 – Kevin Schade is only the fourth German to score a hat-trick in the @premierleague, along with Jürgen Klinsmann (1998), Fredi Bobic (2002) and André Schurrle (2014). Wunderbar. pic.twitter.com/4Mw8WXoGJa

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024

MATCH PREDICTION: ASTON VILLA WINS

Villa are unbeaten in their last four league games against Brentford (W2 D2), having been winless in the previous eight (D4 L4).

However, the Villans have won just two of their last fourteen Premier League matches on Wednesday (D4 L8), although one of those came in their last home game against Manchester City in December last year.

They have also impressed at Villa Park, losing just one of their last eleven home games in the Premier League (W4 D6). However, each of the last three players have finished level, with Villa last drawing four consecutive Premier League games on home soil between March and April 2007.

Brentford, meanwhile, have never won an away game against Villa (D6 L3), with the Bees only facing Stoke City (14) and Halifax Town (11) more often without winning in their league history.

Although Frank's side have achieved more points in home games in the Premier League this season than any other team (19), no team has achieved fewer points this season than the Bees (1, equal to Southampton).

They have also lost nine of their last ten top-flight games against sides that finished in the top four last season, with the sole exception of a 1-1 draw against Manchester United in March.

OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING

Aston Villa – 50.8%

Draw – 23.6%

Brentford-25.6%