Villa Park loses its bite as Brentford hold much-changed Aston Villa

"At Villa Park, we have played three matches and we did not win until now," said Unai Emery after seeing his side held by Kristoffer Ajer's goal that earned Brentford a 2-2 draw. This place was once a fortress but it is proving trickier for a much-changed squad.

There will be patience with the players, particularly given that Nicolas Jackson, scorer of Aston Villa's opening goal, has made a promising start and there is such excitement about the potential of talented new signings like Johan Manzambi and Ibrahim Mbaye. But could the empty North Stand be another factor in their home form too?

Villa Park feels unusually open with no supporters there and the Brentford supporters were likening the atmosphere to that of a library right from the early stages. "It just feels wrong, doesn't it? I don't know what it is," said Bees boss Keith Andrews. "I have got a little bit of OCD, so maybe it's that, if there's a whole stand missing it doesn't quite sit well with me. Naturally, it's not going to generate the type of atmosphere."

Emery has been sanguine about the situation publicly, accepting that it is one step back to take two forwards by increasing the capacity. But Villa Park is less claustrophobic for its visitors right now and that is far from ideal for a club so reliant on its home form.