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Aston Villa and Brentford square off in Maryland on Sunday for their respective teams' final match of the Premier League Summer Series.
While Villa has scored five goals in two games and is still unbeaten, the Bees have lost twice since arriving in the United States.
Aston Villa earned their first victory of the preseason on Wednesday when they defeated Fulham 2-0 in Orlando, moving them into a tie for first place with Chelsea in the Summer Series standings on four points.
The Villans' new club-record signing Moussa Diaby scored on his first outing in a claret and blue shirt after a Cameron Archer penalty miss and Jaden Philogene's first goal, after the game had been delayed for more than an hour by thunderstorms.
At halftime, manager Unai Emery replaced France winger Diaby, who reportedly cost £51.9 million to acquire earlier this month. After displaying flashes of his brilliance, Diaby added Villa's second goal with a strong low effort.
The West Midlands team warmed up for the 2023–24 season by drawing 3–3 with Premier League opponent Newcastle United in Pennsylvania after their preseason opener at Walsall, which ended 1–1, at Bescot Stadium.
In a fortnight, Newcastle will play Villa again at St. James' Park in their first competitive game of the new campaign, but first they will play Brentford, followed by Lazio and Valencia early in the following month.
Having surged up the standings to finish seventh in 2022–23, Emery's team is also getting ready for a Europa Conference League playoff as new additions Diaby, Youri Tielemans, and Pau Torres begin to integrate.
In contrast to their opponents on Sunday, Brentford was defeated once more by Brighton in their second Summer Series game on Wednesday, going down 2-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In Atalanta, the Bees fell behind halfway through the first half before seeing their deficit double in the 58th. Thomas Frank's team made a valiant effort to mount a comeback, and forwards Keane Lewis-Potter and Bryan Mbeumo both had chances to score, but they fell short.
Brentford is still looking for their first preseason win after losing to Fulham 3-2 to open the Premier League's American competition last week. They were also held to a 1-1 draw by National League team Boreham Wood on their return to play.
Frank's team concluded the 2022–23 season on a high note in May, defeating West Ham United, Manchester City, and Tottenham in their final three games to take ninth place in the standings.
Brentford has improved since being promoted to the top division, going from being 13th in 2021–22 to securing a top-half berth last season. However, it is still unclear how the London club's fortunes would fare in the coming season without top scorer and talisman Ivan Toney.
In two weeks, they play host to Spurs to open the new season. The next weekend, they welcome Lille for a friendly. They then play Villa at FedExField.
