Brentford v Aston Villa line-ups: Winger makes debut, Bees man injured, Villa signings start


Brentford make three changes to their side for the visit of Aston Villa, with John Egan injured and Florian Jozefzoon making his debut.

Egan’s absence forces the Bees to revert to 4-2-3-1, having previously played with three centre-backs.

Winger Jozefzoon comes straight in after joining from PSV Eindhoven, while Jota makes his first start for Brentford since August 2015.

Tom Field is back in the side after sitting on the bench for the FA Cup tie at Chelsea, with Yoann Barbet among the substitutes.

Aston Villa hand debuts to Conor Hourihane and Birkir Bjarnason, signed from Barnsley and Basle respectively, while top scorer Jonathan Kodjia returns after Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Full-back James Bree, another signing from Barnsley, is on the bench, alongside the likes of Leandro Bacuna and Jack Grealish.

Brentford: Bentley; Colin, Dean, Bjelland, Field; Yennaris, Woods; Jozefzoon, McEachran, Jota; Vibe.
Subs: Bonham, Clarke, Barbet, McCormack, Kerschbaumer, Sawyers, Hofmann.

Aston Villa: Johnstone; Hutton, Chester, Baker, Amavi; Hourihane, Lansbury; Adomah, Bjarnason, Green; Kodjia.
Subs: Bunn, Bree, Elphick, Gardner, Bacuna, Grealish, Davis.