An Aston Villa side just about clinging onto a top-half Premier League place face a Brentford outfit hovering just below the first 10 positions at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Lions are safe in the knowledge that they will remain above their capital foes in the table no matter what happens in West London, and they arrive in the capital on the back of a statement 3-1 victory over Club Brugge in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 showdown.
Meanwhile, Thomas Frank‘s team have had over a week to reflect on a 1-1 home draw versus Everton, one that means the Bees are still without a single win on their own patch in 2025.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
© Imago
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 21
Brentford wins: 4
Draws: 8
Aston Villa wins: 9
Only becoming familiar opponents over the last decade following a few scattered showdowns in the 20th century, Brentford and Aston Villa have now met on 21 occasions in a competitive fixture, and the Lions hold the head-to-head supremacy.
Indeed, Villa boast nine victories compared to a measly four for the Bees, and the two clubs have shaken hands on a point in another eight encounters, including a 3-3 Premier League thriller in April 2024.
However, that six-goal stalemate came several months before Aston Villa emerged 3-1 victors in December 2024, and the former European champions have now managed to avoid defeat in each of their last five Premier League matches against the Bees.
That successful sequence actually commenced when Aaron Danks was in charge of the club in October 2022, as the caretaker Lions boss masterminded a 4-0 thrashing of Brentford, who have now taken just two points from the last 15 on offer in this fixture.
Villa’s recent unbeaten run in this fixture has seen the West Midlands club get their own back on Brentford, who impressively did not lose any of their eight clashes between September 2016 and January 2022, following a draw-win-draw-win pattern throughout that Championship and Premier League cycle.
The Bees are still waiting for their first-ever Premier League clean sheet against Aston Villa, though, and the capital club failed to win any of their first nine meetings with the Lions, who prevailed in five of their first six First Division battles between 1935 and 1947.
Brentford and Villa have only ever met outside of the league twice in a 1952-53 FA Cup fourth-round tie, where the Lions were held to a goalless draw at home but triumphed 2-1 in the replay a few days later.
Making nets bulge for fun in the colours of both teams, Ollie Watkins is the highest documented scorer in this contest with five goals, all of which have come in an Aston Villa kit.
Last 20 meetings
Dec 04, 2024: Aston Villa 3-1 Brentford (Premier League)
Apr 06, 2024: Aston Villa 3-3 Brentford (Premier League)
Dec 17, 2023: Brentford 1-2 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Apr 22, 2023: Brentford 1-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Oct 23, 2022: Aston Villa 4-0 Brentford (Premier League)
Jan 02, 2022: Brentford 2-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Aug 28, 2021: Aston Villa 1-1 Brentford (Premier League)
Feb 13, 2019: Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa (Championship)
Aug 22, 2018: Aston Villa 2-2 Brentford (Championship)
Dec 26, 2017: Brentford 2-1 Aston Villa (Championship)
Sep 09, 2017: Aston Villa 0-0 Brentford (Championship)
Jan 31, 2017: Brentford 3-0 Aston Villa (Championship)
Sep 14, 2016: Aston Villa 1-1 Brentford (Championship)
Feb 04, 1953: Brentford 1-2 Aston Villa (FA Cup Fourth Round Replay)
Jan 31, 1953: Aston Villa 0-0 Brentford (FA Cup Fourth Round)
Feb 01, 1947: Brentford 0-2 Aston Villa (First Division)
Sep 28, 1946: Aston Villa 5-2 Brentford (First Division)
Feb 08, 1939: Brentford 2-4 Aston Villa (First Division)
Sep 17, 1938: Aston Villa 5-0 Brentford (First Division)
Jan 25, 1936: Aston Villa 2-2 Brentford (First Division)
Last seven Premier League meetings
Dec 04, 2024: Aston Villa 3-1 Brentford (Premier League)
Apr 06, 2024: Aston Villa 3-3 Brentford (Premier League)
Dec 17, 2023: Brentford 1-2 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Apr 22, 2023: Brentford 1-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Oct 23, 2022: Aston Villa 4-0 Brentford (Premier League)
Jan 02, 2022: Brentford 2-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Aug 28, 2021: Aston Villa 1-1 Brentford (Premier League)
Read more on Brentford vs Aston Villa
No Data Analysis info