Aston Villa will host Brentford at Villa Park on Saturday after a three-week international break which gave Unai Emery ample time to prepare for a tough test against one of the Premier League’s in-form sides.
There are pros and cons to the break in play provided by international breaks, and based on Emery’s history, it appears they have been pretty beneficial for Villa.
Since arriving at the club in November 2022, Emery has a phenomenal record of 11 wins, two draws and only one defeat in 14 games immediately following the international break.
One of those wins was an F.A. Cup quarter-final against Preston North End, and another was a 3-1 win over Bologna in the Europa League quarter-final first leg. In the Premier League, they have taken 29 points from a possible 36 with an aggregate score of 26-13 in favour of Villa.
In fact, the only loss Emery has suffered after an international break as Villa boss was his first such game, as Liverpool won 3-1 at Villa Park on Boxing Day 2022. That was the first game back after the World Cup in Qatar, so even that is not a traditional two-or-three-week break.
After that defeat, Emery’s Villa won the next seven games after international windows, a run that stretched from 1st April 2023 (a 2-0 win at Chelsea) and 19th October 2024, before they finally dropped points in a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at home.
Villa are currently on a three-game win streak after international breaks, beating Bologna in Europe as well as Leeds and Tottenham in the league last season. All three of those games were away from home.
Saturday’s contest with Brentford is Villa’s first home game following a break since that draw with Palace back in 2024, and they are looking for their first point at Villa Park this season after only playing two home matches so far this season, losing both to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.
Brentford are currently unbeaten after picking up two wins and three draws in their opening five games, including a 3-0 victory against Chelsea just before the Premier League paused.
Keith Andrews’ side won both league matchups last season, including a 1-0 win at Villa Park despite going down to ten men. They also knocked Villa out of the Carabao Cup on penalties, meaning Emery is yet to pick up any kind of positive result against Andrews in three meetings.
If Emery’s record after international breaks is any indicator, that might change on Saturday in what is an important game as Villa look to kick their season fully into gear.
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