Soccer
Keith Andrews knows he must temper his ideology with a dose of pragmatism ahead of his first home competitive game in charge of Brentford, as Aston Villa visit the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
The Bees kicked off their 2025-26 Premier League campaign with a 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground last week, in a disappointing start to Andrews’ tenure.
It was the club’s first-ever loss on the opening matchday of a Premier League season and came after the sales of key players Bryan Mbeumo, Christian Norgaard and Mark Flekken.
Brentford remain unbeaten in their opening home games in the top-flight throughout their nine seasons at this level, with seven wins and two draws, and they have scored a minimum of two goals in each of those matches.
Having only conceded three goals from set-pieces last term, Chris Wood’s opener last weekend came from a Forest corner. The last time Brentford conceded from corners in consecutive games was in December 2023.
Thomas Frank’s Brentford side were renowned for their solid defensive work, and Andrews knows he needs to retain part of that identity.
Andrews said: “The key is about balancing my ideologies with pragmatism.
“When you’re fixated on playing a certain way as a coach and you haven’t got the tools to do that, it’s dangerous and there’s only one outcome.
“You’ve also got to factor in something I’m huge on: confidence levels.
“If you’re asking players to do things they don’t really believe in, they sense that it’s perhaps not the right thing to do, then they might lose the game and not play particularly well either. I’ve always felt that you should try and get the best out of the players you have at your disposal.”
Our first away day of the season pic.twitter.com/isbdZ9viSn
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 20, 2025
Meanwhile, Villa will be eager to get their season up and running with three points, after being held to a goalless draw by Newcastle United at Villa Park in their curtain-raiser.
The Villans mustered up just three shots against Newcastle, marking their lowest shot count in a Premier League game since May 2024, when they registered just two shots against Brighton.
Overall, across matchday one, Villa ranked last among all Premier League teams for both shots taken and expected goals (0.20 xG).
However, the Europa League-bound side will fancy their chances in West London on Saturday, having won their last two away games against the Bees.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brentford – Dango Ouattara
Earlier this month, Brentford smashed their transfer record when they signed Ouattara from Bournemouth in a deal reportedly worth £42m.
The former Lorient winger tallied 11 goal involvements last season (seven goals, four assists), helping the Cherries to their highest Premier League finish of ninth as they spent much of the campaign flirting with a European spot. After missing out against Forest, Ouattara could be in line to make his Bees bow this Saturday.
Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins
The England international registered 24 Premier League goal involvements (16 goals, eight assists) last season, ranking seventh for goals in the division.
In seven Premier League appearances for Villa against Brentford, Watkins has racked up seven goal contributions (six goals and one assist), with his latest goal against his former goal coming in Villa’s 1-0 away win back in March.
MATCH PREDICTION: ASTON VILLA WIN
Brentford have failed to win any of their last six matches (two draws and four losses) against Villa, and have been unable to keep a clean sheet in any of their eight head-to-head Premier League meetings.
Watkins has been a key threat for Villa in London, contributing to 13 goals in his last 18 Premier League appearances there (11 goals and two assists).
That includes him scoring in each of his last two away matches against his former club Brentford, during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
Andrews will also be mindful of Villa’s skill from set-pieces, with the club ranking second in the Premier League last season for goals scored from dead-ball situations.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY:
Brentford: 31.1%
Draw: 25.4%
Aston Villa: 43.4%
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