Aston Villa return to action, look for rebound against Brentford
By Josh Tonti
Aston Villa Football Club return to Championship action following the FIFA International break. A home match-up against Brentford presents the perfect opportunity for three points.
Brentford sit in an unusual position in the league table. After three consecutive (and unexpected) top-half finishes, The Bees see themselves in the relegation zone this season.
Albeit, we have only seen five matches, but Brentford could be under real threat of facing the drop. The transfer window did them no favors. Birmingham City and Harry Redknapp brought in: Jota, Harlee Dean, and Maxime Colin before the deadline.
With two points in five matches, Brentford boss Dean Smith is feeling the heat. A trip to Villa Park will do them no favors. Aston Villa will be without several stars again, but three points should be easily within grasp.
Jonathan Kodjia (ankle) and Jack Grealish (kidney) remain out. Likewise, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy is fighting a thigh strain. Mile Jedinak is a question mark, but before the break it was reported he was nearing a return. He was passed over for Australia international duty in order to recover. Therefore, ten-plus days in Birmingham may have been enough time to regain match fitness.
September represents a crucial month for Aston Villa. The claret and blue have three home league matches, a home cup draw, and two away matches packed inside. Not only that, but one can argue the fixtures are fairly favorable.
Villa play Middlesbrough twice (both at home) – which represent the most difficult opponent. Those traveling to Villa Park: Bolton, Brentford, and Nottingham Forest. Not exactly the cream of the Championship crop.
PROJECTED ASTON VILLA XI (4-3-3): Johnstone; De Laet, Chester, Terry (c), Taylor; Jedinak, Onomah, Hourihane; Snodgrass, Davis, Green.
SUBSTITUTES: Steer, Elphick, Bree, Whelan, Lansbury, Elmohamady, Bjarnason.
With almost everyone fit, this became nearly impossible to include everyone. Albert Adomah and Alan Hutton couldn’t find places in the eighteen, but they could find themselves starting and no one would be surprised.
Chris Samba is dealing with a small knee injury – hence Tommy Elphick’s inlcusion. The backline stays the same with Ritchie De Laet coming in to his natural right back position. Elsewhere, new signing Robert Snodgrass takes over in the attack alongside Keinan Davis and André Green.
WHEN: Saturday, September 9, 2017 @10:00AM EST
WHERE: Villa Park, Birmingham
PREDICTION: 3-1 Aston Villa (Davis, Onomah, Snodgrass) (Vibe)