Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the EFL Cup match.
This tie is one of only two in the third round of the EFL Cup involving English Premier League clubs. Do Brentford and Aston Villa really want to burden themselves with an extra competition when results are not exactly going their way?
Brentford
Brentford are in slightly better shape. They snatched a 2:2 draw against Chelsea on home soil, even though they are now without the strike partnership that delivered last season. Three of Brentford’s four opponents have found the net against them, and the only side who did not were Aston Villa in Matchweek 2 (1:0). On that occasion Aston Villa created plenty (17 shots, 1.19 xG) and had 76% possession, but they failed to make it count.
Aston Villa
And after Matchweek 4 Aston Villa remain without a goal. The saving grace is that they are at least picking up some points. In Matchweek 4 they earned a draw at Everton’s new stadium only thanks to Emiliano Martínez. The Argentine goalkeeper is prone to the occasional error, but last Saturday he was genuinely the hero. His rating was not even the highest within the squad, but 2.08 xG and three big chances tell their own story: he pulled off a string of saves and kept them in it. Aston Villa managed only 0.54 xG and one shot on target.
Brentford vs Aston Villa Prediction
Aston Villa may keep it tight at the back, although Unai Emery is likely to make a change in goal simply to give Emiliano Martínez a rest, and they have big problems up front. If the first-choice players cannot find the net, what will the reserves produce? So we are backing Team Total Under on Aston Villa goals.
