Aston Villa are the opponents for Brentford’s final game of the Premier League Summer Series on Sunday 30 July (12pm kick-off EDT/5pm GMT).
The Bees will be looking to end their time in the USA on a high at FedExField, Maryland, having been edged out by Fulham and Brighton and Hove Albion in their previous two fixtures.
The Opposition
Emery appointment sparks change at Villa Park
During the opening months of last season, it’s fair to say Aston Villa were spiralling.
Steven Gerrard helped them maintain a solid mid-table position after taking over from Dean Smith in November 2021, but at the start of September last year, his side were second bottom after four defeats from their opening five Premier League games.
“I’ll continue to try and lead this team forward in the best way I can until I’m told differently,” he said after the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on 31 August. “But, in terms of being concerned with how the table looks, of course I am. I’m a human being.”
Villa went unbeaten in the next four games, but then lost to Chelsea and Fulham and only scored three goals across that six-game sequence. There was little sign of improvement and the fanbase was growing restless, so, on 21 October, Gerrard was sacked.
Everything changed when Unai Emery took over.
The Spaniard was appointed as Gerrard’s successor three days after his departure, but his work permit did not allow him to take over officially until 1 November, meaning he had only two games before the start of the break for the World Cup in Qatar.
Caretaker Aaron Danks took charge in the interim, overseeing a 4-0 win over Brentford and a defeat by the same scoreline at Newcastle.
The first game of the Emery era set the tone - a 3-1 win over Manchester United at Villa Park. It was the first time Villa had beaten United on home soil in 27 years; Emery described it as “a special day”, but just “the first step”. The second – a 2-1 win over Brighton - was only their fifth Premier League win of 2022.
A return to domestic action brought a mixed bag of results: four defeats, three wins, one draw. Towards the end of February, Villa sat 11th in the table after a 4-2 defeat at home to Arsenal, a game during which they had twice taken the lead. Emery’s response was frank: “Very disappointed, very frustrated, and embarrassing to lose as much as 4-2 at home in front of our own supporters.”
It was a turning point. In the final 15 games of the season, Villa won 10 times. In April, they broke into European contention, which was remarkable given the way they started the season. A draw with Liverpool in the penultimate game of the season lifted them to seventh and a final day win over Brighton secured a place in the Europa Conference League play-off round after their best finish since 2009/10.
With European competition on the menu again, some impressive signings onboard and the momentum of last term in the not-too-distant past, Aston Villa will be a side to watch this season.
In the Dugout
Unai Emery
Having managed more than 950 matches in 18-and-a-half years, Unai Emery is one of the most experienced managers currently working in the Premier League.
A midfielder in his playing days, Emery’s career ended in late 2004, when he was offered the chance to take over as manager of Lorca Deportivo, for whom he had signed from Leganes a year earlier.
After two years at the now-defunct club, he took the reins at Almeria and then, in May 2008, joined Valencia and guided them to three successive third-place finishes in La Liga in 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12.
The Spaniard moved to Russia to coach Spartak Moscow next, but his tenure at Otkritie Arena lasted all of six months and he was back in La Liga in January 2013, when he was appointed as Sevilla boss. His time in charge of Los Nervionenseswill be best remembered for the incredible feat of winning the Europa League three times in a row between 2014 and 2016.
After three-and-a-half years, in June 2016, Emery opted to move on again, this time to France with Paris Saint-Germain. His time at Parc des Princes was laden with silverwar: one Ligue 1 title, two Coupe de France, two Coupe de la Ligue and two Trophee des Champions.
With a year left on his contract at PSG, he announced his intention to leave and was later announced as the successor to long-serving Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
The highlight of Emery’s time in north London was reaching the 2018/19 Europa League final - though the Gunners were beaten 4-1 by Chelsea – and he was sacked in November 2019 after less than 18 months in charge. He returned to Spain once again and re-established himself as the undisputed king of the Europa League after a fourth triumph with Villarreal in 2021.
He was approached by Newcastle shortly after their takeover in late 2021, but rebuffed their advances. He said: “I am grateful for the interest of a great club, but even more grateful to be here. Villarreal is my home and I am 100 per cent committed.” He remained in charge of El Submarine Amarillo until October 2022, when Aston Villa met a reported £5.2 million buyout clause to bring him to the Premier League for a second time.
Pre-match analysis
Alex Lawes, Playmaker Stats: Adaptability at the heart of both sides’ success
The third match of Brentford’s Premier League Summer Series promises to be a tactically fascinating battle against Unai Emery's Aston Villa.
Under the Spaniard, Villa were one of the best sides in the Premier League for almost two thirds of the campaign last season and, in fact, only Man City (53) have collected more points than the Villans (43) since the turn of the year.
Fresh from clinching seventh and a Europa Conference League spot last season, the Midlanders have a spring in their step and Sunday's clash with the Bees at the FedExField in Maryland will pit two top tacticians against one another.
Both teams are shaped by the pragmatism and intelligence of their respective coaches and Emery v Frank, in many ways, tops the bill.
Aside from Villa's impressive results under him, Emery’s in-game tweaking and ability to tailor tactics to specific opposition have been clear strengths, which comes as no surprise given his cup runs in the past with Sevilla, Villarreal and even Arsenal.
Frank possesses a comparable adaptability, which was perfectly captured by Brentford’s final 10 games of last season: the Bees deploying a 3-5-2 system for five of those matches, but adopting a 4-3-3 for the other five games.
The pragmatism and defensive organisation instilled by both coaches sees both sides excel at knocking opponents out of their stride, nullifying their strengths and exploiting any weaknesses.
Both sides possess an impressive ability to be defensively compact and launch lightning fast counter attacks. Brentford scored six Premier League goals on the break in 2022/23, with Villa just one behind with five.
One huge positive for the Bees last season was that they were the only team not to concede a Premier League goal on the counter attack, so Villa and Emery have a tough nut to crack in that regard.
The game could well be a cagey affair going on both teams' defensive prowess. Only the top four teams in the Premier League in 2022/23 boasted better defensive records last season than Brentford and Villa (who conceded 46 goals apiece).
However, the Bees' strength from dead-ball situations could potentially come into play against a team who shipped 14 goals from set-pieces last term, the third-most in the league.
Brentford have a habit of scoring at the back post from flick-ons and they are a clear threat from close range: averaging 1.6 shots per game inside the six-yard box, as opposed to Villa's 0.8 last season.
Unlike Brentford’s previous match against Brighton, when the teams shared off-field similarities but contrasted on the pitch, the exact opposite could be true for the Bees and Sunday's opponents.
Both Brentford and Villa display a similar willingness to counter attack or counteract their opponent and Sunday's clash should be an absorbing contest.
The Gameplan
With John Townley, Aston Villa correspondent for Birmingham Live
From Unai Emery’s preferred system to the club's transfer window activity, Birmingham Live’s John Townley brings us up to speed on all things Aston Villa in Hot off the Press.
“I do not expect Emery to move away from the system he deployed last season, which was a 4-2-2-2.
“In and out of possession this system will change, but Emery likes to use a double pivot in midfield, and asks his left-back - which is usually Alex Moreno, but he will be injured for the Brentford pre-season friendly - to push up high and play as a winger.
“This allows Jacob Ramsey, who will also miss pre-season, to tuck inside, while John McGinn, Emi Buendia or Leon Bailey, and Ollie Watkins also make up the numbers in the final third.
“While attacking, the two centre-backs and right-back will usually make up a back-three, while a holding midfielder will also provide cover, as Luiz tends to push on and support attacks too.
“This is a very basic explanation of what to expect, and Emery will likely use these friendlies to tweak shapes and tactics ahead of the new campaign.”
Last Meeting
Brentford 1 Aston Villa 1 (Premier League, 22 April 2023)
Douglas Luiz’s 87th-minute goal earned Aston Villa a share of the spoils at Gtech Community Stadium.
After an even opening 45 minutes, Brentford were far the better side after the break and deservedly took the lead when Ivan Toney fired home Bryan Mbeumo’s deep cross just past the hour mark.
Thomas Frank’s side had other chances - Kevin Schade, Mbeumo and Frank Onyeka passing up the best of them - and were punished late on as Luiz converted from six yards out in the closing stages.