Aston Villa will be looking for their 2nd win when they welcome Brentford to the Villa park on the back of a pulsating draw against Nottingham Forest. Aston Villa were busy throughout the transfer window and brought in 13 players to boost their chances of an immediate promotion to the top-flight.
They started off with a loss but rallied to win their next fixture 3-0 against Rotherham which has sadly been their only win till now. Currently stranded in the 17th position, with a meagre 6 points to show for their efforts, Roberto Di Matteo will be glancing nervously at the director’s box every time such a result materialises.
They were close to a second win in the weekend but ended up sharing the spoils with Forest. The match saw a frenetic finish as 4 goals were scored in the 2nd half along with a red card thrown in the midst. Villa dominated the first half and were extremely close to getting the lead when McCormack hit the post after meeting Kodjia’s cross following a bursting run into the box from Jordan Ayew. Ayew had another decent chance moments later when he leapt and touched an Aly Cissokho delivery wide – and the Ghana forward then shot high and wide as Villa failed to make their chances pay.
Villa started off again dangerously after the break but it was it was Forest who took the lead with their first attempt on target, as Lansbury laid the ball to Vellios, who turned 20 yards out to smash the ball past substitute keeper Mark Bunn and claim his first goal for the club. McCormack and Ayew combined to put Villa back into the match after finishing from 8 yards out. And it was the Ghanaian Ayew who was pivotal again as he burst into the area and crossed for Gestede to acrobatically turn and finish into the back of the net. But it was Forest who had more left in the tank as Pereira then broke free before laying the ball off to Lansbury, who shot beyond Bunn from inside the box with only Forest’s second effort on target of the afternoon.
Roberto Di Matteo was visibly frustrated after the match pointing out the need to be more clinical in front of goal. He promised a turnaround for the fans and will be getting an opportunity tomorrow against Brentford. Aston villa will be missing Libor Kozak and Aaron Tshibola as they are both injured.
Here is the predicted Aston Villa line-up against Brentford (4-4-2)
