"We needed our goalkeeper. We needed our defence to be strong. From crosses they are dangerous, but I think we did a fantastic job." On Axel Disasi: "He's here because he wanted to be with us. Today he made one more step forward [in terms of] adapting to us and supporting us."

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was left delighted after victory at Brentford on Saturday. Ollie Watkins struck just after halftime for the 1-0 win in London, with Emery insisting they were worthy of the points. “I’m very proud of the players,” Emery said, eager to highlight the performance of stand-in goalkeeper Robin Olsen.

Follow live coverage as Brentford face Aston Villa today in the Premier League. Another top-flight season will be covered in full right here with The Independent, as reigning champions Manchester City look to make it an unprecedented five titles in a row come the end of 2024/25.

With an average age of 28y 217d, Aston Villa named their oldest starting XI for an away Premier League game since a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal in March 2012 under Alex McLeish.