It may not be the most thrilling fixture, but can Aston Villa effectively secure their place in the Championship next season with a win over Brentford at 7.45pm on Sky Sports 1?

Things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Villa since they crashed out of the Premier League last year. While Newcastle are basically locked on to bounce back in the top flight, bar an extraordinary dip in form in those sides above the Midlands club the Villains look set to remain in the Championship for at least another season yet.



Even that didn’t seem a certainty last October. In their first 12 games in the second tier Villa won just once, losing 3 times and drawing 8, including all of their 5 matches in September. Since Steve Bruce took charge at the end of that run things have improved, the club winning 7 of their final 12 games in 2016, lifting them sufficiently far enough from the relegation zone that securing safety is likely now just a formality. However, there have been a few worrying signs since the New Year began; they are yet to pick up a win in 2017, with league losses against Cardiff and Wolves (and a draw against Preston) joined by an FA Cup 3rd round defeat to Tottenham.

As for Brentford, the only real difference between them and Villa is that their dismal showing comes with a slightly less severe level of expectation. And even that isn’t strictly true given that last season the Bees finished in 9th place, meaning it wouldn’t have been an unreasonable hope that they could be challenging for promotion this time around. Instead Dean Smith’s side are stuck in 15th place, probably safe from relegation but with little to no chance of nabbing one of the play-off spots.

They have, however, struggled slightly less than Aston Villa since the start of 2017. The year kicked off with a decent away win over Birmingham, as well as a hefty 5-1 victory over Eastleigh in the FA Cup 3rd round. Yet that upswing in form seems to have disappeared in the last fortnight, with Championship defeats to Newcastle and Wigan (the latter one of the most likely candidates for the drop) leading to a 4-0 Cup drubbing against Chelsea.

Villa will presumably be hoping that after chasing the Blues around at the weekend Brentford might show signs of fatigue mid-week. Yet the recent limpness from either side has made Tuesday’s game too close to call, with Spreadex offering a choice Brentford/Aston Villa Goal Supremacy spread of -0.1-0.1 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.