Rarely-seen Aston Villa player can blow Brentford away, Unai Emery must take leap of faith

Unai Emery might have to start making some key changes if Aston Villa are to begin climbing the Premier League table this season.

The Villans finally got off the mark with a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur before the international break, but it was far from convincing.

Before facing Brentford at Villa Park on Saturday, 10 October, Villa are sitting 16th in the table, whereas their opponents are up in fourth.

Claiming all three points against Keith Andrews' Bees will not be an easy task, but Emery has plenty of talent at his disposal to do so in fashion.

Zion Suzuki has already made a lasting impact between the sticks, Johan Manzambi is looking like a bargain, and the manager is already getting the best out of Nicolas Jackson.

However, not everything has gelled quite right yet, so Emery could be forced to make a rather surprising change to one of his wings.

Unai Emery could make a surprise Aston Villa change

Since arriving on a season-long loan from Chelsea, Alejandro Garnacho has barely had a sniff, being given just 31 minutes on the pitch so far.

Against Club Brugge, Nottingham Forest, Coventry City and Tottenham , he's been forced to watch on from the bench.

He finally got off the mark in a friendly game against Sevilla during the international break, though, and Emery needs to take advantage of that confidence.

This certainly wouldn't be the first time that he's faced Brentford, and those at the Gtech Community Stadium will remember him all too well.

During the 2024-25 season for Manchester United, Garnacho notched two goals and one assist, with one goal and one assist coming in the Bees' surprise 4-3 win.

The other goal was an equaliser at Old Trafford, with Rasmus Hoijlund going on to score the winner to take all three points.

Alejandro Garnacho has tormented Brentford before

In the 4-3 game at the Gtech, Garnacho's performance went under the radar due to the chaotic nature, but he was on fire against the Bees.

In 90 minutes, he scored, assisted, created five chances - the most of anyone - made five recoveries, won a foul, and entered into seven duels [FotMob].

And in the home game that season, he created two chances, registered five shots on target, completed 50 per cent of his dribbles, entered into 15 duels, and made seven recoveries [FotMob].

Garnacho appears to love playing against Brentford, and if there is going to be a time for Emery to trust the loanee, it is this weekend at Villa Park.