Unai Emery warns Aston Villa have 'no excuses' ahead of Brentford test

The trip to west London is shaping up to be a serious test of Villa’s squad depth, with four of the players who started both of this month’s stunning wins over Manchester City and Arsenal potentially absent.

Midfielder Douglas Luiz and left-back Lucas Digne, who have started every league match to this point, are definitely unavailable after picking up their fifth bookings of the season against the Gunners last Saturday.

Villa also have concerns over Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans, both of whom were forced off early in the same fixture and then did not travel to Bosnia for Thursday night’s Europa Conference League tie at Zrinjski Mostar.

But Emery, who will make a final decision on his starting XI after training on Saturday, was keen to point out Villa are not the only team whose resources are being tested.

Brentford also have their worries, with striker Bryan Mbuemo ruled out for three months after undergoing ankle surgery, while influential midfielder Mathias Jensen will again be missing.

Emery said: “I think it is normal in every team for players to be suspended and injured.

“We faced Tottenham when they had players out injured and faced Man City who had a lot of players as well out.

“It is not an excuse for them and it is not an excuse for us. I want to be positive and support the players in our squad when the opportunity comes for them.”

The wins over City and Arsenal moved Villa to within two points of the Premier League summit but Emery is continuing to dismiss the idea his team are genuine title contenders.

Their somewhat inconsistent away form provides the best evidence for his argument. Though a return of four points from trips to Tottenham and Bournemouth represented an improvement, Villa have regularly struggled to get close to the lofty levels of their home performances.

Playing a Brentford team who have lost just four times in their last 27 league matches at the Gtech Community Stadium can only be considered a tough assignment. Villa are also winless in their last five visits to Brentford with last season’s 1-1 draw – which came courtesy of a late Luiz equaliser – the only time they have not tasted defeat.

“I will speak about it (the title) only when we are on day 30, or 32, in the case we are there,” said Emery. “Right now I can’t set this objective in my mind, with the club and the players. Now, we are third and it is amazing, we deserve it.

“But it is very difficult. Brentford on Sunday will be a very difficult match and against those teams, more or less, we are having more problems getting a good performance and imposing our gameplan.

“Why? Because the Premier League is very difficult. Wolverhampton was very difficult, Nottingham Forest too and Bournemouth. Sunday is really very difficult.”