Aston Villa fans would have been on cloud nine when you cast your mind back to the start of October, having just toppled Bayern Munich under the Villa Park lights in the Champions League.
That feels a very long time ago now, however, instead of just two months, with the Villans now without a victory in their last eight games in all competitions, having also tasted defeat on Europe’s biggest stage in this run of dire games at the hands of Club Brugge.
If the Premier League underperformers are to turn their form around when Brentford come to town later tonight, they will have to ensure they shackle Bryan Mbeumo for the full 90 minutes, who has been a top star for Thomas Frank’s confident Bees whilst Villa have struggled.
Why Aston Villa need to stop Mbeumo
Whilst the likes of Ollie Watkins have receded into their shells in attack for Emery’s men as of late, Mbeumo has sparkled brightly for his employers, with eight goals and one assist coming his way this season in the Premier League from 13 encounters.
Villa will take some solace in the fact the dangerous Cameroonian has only bagged one of those goals away from home soil, but the top-flight strugglers will have to stay alert all the same, with Mbeumo capable of popping up with a spectacular strike from nothing.
West Ham United found that out the hard way when the 25-year-old struck home this beautifully executed first time effort back in September, with the 5 foot 7 ace no doubt raring for more goals to come his way when looking at how leaky Villa have been defensively.
Still, Unai Emery also has an abundance of exciting attackers to call upon much like his counterpart in the Bees dug-out, with one star capable of being his very own Mbeumo if picked.
Emery can unleash his very own Mbeumo
Jhon Duran could be in line for his first start of the Premier League campaign when Brentford travel to Villa Park, with Watkins perhaps overdue a spot on the substitutes bench after firing consistent blanks recently.
Watkins has only scored one goal in his last seven clashes, with Duran more than capable of taking over goalscoring duties up top in place of the England international to be his team’s own version of Mbeumo.
Similar to the Cameroonian attacker in terms of being more comfortable operating on their left foot, Duran is also capable of firing home a stunning strike for his side out of the blue, with the Colombian tallying up four strikes this season in the league despite zero starting opportunities.
He has been the difference-maker for his team subsequently in high-stakes contests, seen in this instinctive finish that caught out Manuel Neuer during that aforementioned famous night in the West Midlands versus Vincent Kompany’s side.
Labelled as “special” last season by his manager after two late strikes versus Liverpool too, he is more than validating these glowing words with his electric output as an impact substitute, which could lead to a start coming his way in place of a misfiring Watkins.
This change in personnel might well be enough to catch Brentford off-guard, who have only lost once in the league in their last five games, away from Villa’s wins drying up.
Opponent
Goals scored
1. West Ham
1
2. Arsenal
0
3. Leicester City
1
4. Everton
1
5. Wolves
1
If Duran can reach his early top-flight season best against the Bees – as can be seen in his electric goalscoring record above – a positive result might well be coming the way of Emery’s men come the full-time whistle, instead of another disappointing knock to their confidence.
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