Brentford at Villa Park, the day after the night and match facts from the BBC

So, it's the day after what turned into a decent night of European football at Villa Park, maybe more in terms of result than anything else, but also a couple of days before another big Premier League match.

And as I've written on maybe two or three occasions of late, we are very much in the business end of the season, a lot earlier than normal and that's why it's another big match.

We simply can't afford defeats. And that is a bit bold to write, but defeat could bring the Club below us to within five points and that would likely mean we are closer to them to the top and that feels like a slippy slope. But if we did lose and the team below us did win and Arsenal lost, the team below us would start believing they could win the League. 

Football is a funny old game.

And a serious one. Ollie went off last night and I'm not sure if we've had any news or not as I write this at the airport with my second beer, but it's another injury and while I hope it's not as bad as it could be, what if it is? Sure, we have Tammy now but what happens if he gets injured?

And this is another pointer to us very much taking part in the business end of the season. But I'm happy that Tammy and Douglas are back. Tammy is a striker, so the process of him learning what is expected, I'd imagine is easier because of the role. Douglas should know or remember and it should be quicker. I suspect they'll both be involved on Sunday, in one way or another.

And on that, I'm going to wave to the man walking around and see if he can get me another pint. Just over two hours to sit here. 

Match facts from the BBC

• Aston Villa have never lost in 10 previous home league games against Brentford (W4 D6), the most they’ve ever faced a side without defeat.

• Brentford won the reverse fixture against Aston Villa 1-0 in August – they’ve never won consecutive league meetings with the Villans before.

• Aston Villa were winless in their first five Premier League games this season (D2 L3), scoring just one goal. However, since the start of MD6 (27th September), the Villans have won more points (43) and more games (14) than any other side.

• Following an eight game winning run at home in the Premier League, Aston Villa lost 1-0 against Everton last time out at Villa Park. They’ve not lost consecutive home league games since February 2024.

• Brentford have lost their last two Premier League games, going down 2-0 against both Chelsea and Nottingham Forest. They last lost three consecutive league games without scoring in March 2012 in League One.

• Aston Villa have scored a league-high 13 goals from outside the box in the Premier League this season, with the Villans only netting more in a campaign in 2007-08 (16). They’ve also scored the highest share from outside the box this term (37%), with only QPR in 2012-13 netting a higher share from distance across a full campaign (40% - 12/30).

• Only bottom side Wolves (9) have lost more Premier League away games than Brentford this season (8), with the Bees the only side without a draw on the road so far (W3).

• Only Bruno Fernandes’ goals and assists have been worth points (17) to his side in the Premier League this season than Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers (15).

• Brentford full back Michael Kayode has made 101 long throws into the box in the Premier League this season, more than any other player. He’s created eight chances from these throws, with no other player in the division creating more than two.

• Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has scored six goals in his seven Premier League starts against former side Brentford, only netting more against Brighton (9) and Arsenal (7). Watkins is just two goals away from being only the second Englishman to score 10+ goals in each of his first six Premier League campaigns after Ian Wright (1992-93 to 1997-98).