Why Aston Villa will cringe at referee appointment vs Brentford
Aston Villa may already feel at a disadvantage ahead of their clash with Brentford.
Unai Emery's side welcome Keith Andrews' Bees to Villa Park this Saturday.
After a slow start, Villa really found momentum prior to the international break, winning four of their last five in all competitions.
With their first league win of the season under their belts too, they'll be confident of making that two this weekend.
However, Brentford will be a formidable test, as Andrews' side remain unbeaten in all competitions in 2026-27.
Luck may need to be on the Villains' side on Saturday, then, but they've received a subtle early sign that perhaps it won't be.
What is Aston Villa's record with Craig Pawson as referee?
The Premier League announced on Monday who the officials will be for this weekend's latest round of fixtures.
Craig Pawson has been confirmed as the referee for Aston Villa against Brentford.
The 47-year-old is a vastly experienced referee, having been FIFA listed between 2015 to 2024 and taking charge of Premier League games since 2013.
Per Transfermarkt, he's been the man in the middle for Villa games 30 times during his career.
Villa have won just eight of those, losing 14 and drawing the other eight, with 64 yellow cards shown to Villains players across those games.
Pawson has, however, only ever sent one Villa player off in his career, so Emery perhaps doesn't need to worry about going a man down too much.
So, when was the last time Pawson oversaw an Aston Villa win, and what competition did it come in?
What season was Villa's last Premier League win with Pawson in?
As detailed, Aston Villa's record with Pawson as referee is pretty miserable to say the least.
Indeed, the last Villa game he took charge of was in the 2-0 defeat to Wolves in the Premier League last season.
Villa's last win with Pawson did actually arrive in the game prior to that one, and that was in a 2-1 FA Cup third-round victory over Tottenham in January.
But you have to go back to September 2024 to find the last league win for Villa with Pawson in the middle, which was a 3-2 victory over Everton.
That means the Villains have won just one of their last seven in all competitions with Pawson as referee.
And in terms of the Premier League, it's one win in nine, so not the positive omen of a victory Emery nor Villa fans would've been looking for ahead of Brentford.