John McGinn set to go toe-to-toe with an old friend when Aston Villa take on Brentford

McGinn is pals with Bees ace Lewis Macleod, after previously playing alongside his fellow midfielder for Scotland Under-19s.

The pair have remained in regular contact yet McGinn, who has enjoyed a fine start to life at Villa Park since joining from Hibernian earlier this month, will put friendship to one side for 90 minutes as he looks to help his new club to a third win in four matches.

“Lewis texted me when I signed for Villa and we exchanged a few messages,” revealed McGinn.

“He is a good player who has had a tough time with injuries, so it’s nice to see him back. Hopefully on Wednesday night he can have an off-day.”

The two teams boast identical records, with hauls of seven points from the opening three games putting them both among the early season pacesetters.

Yet McGinn has acknowledged Villa must raise their game, following Saturday’s disappointing 1-1 draw at 10-man Ipswich.

Brentford head into tonight on the back of a 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, which was even more emphatic than the scoreline suggests.

“They’re a good team. With Lewis there I’ve always kept an eye on their scores,” said McGinn.

“They are an attacking team who will come to Villa Park to play and we need to be strong and resolute. I’m sure we will be.”

Bees boss Dean Smith, who grew up a Villa fan, hoped the weekend victory over Wednesday had sent a ‘big message’ to Steve Bruce’s men.

Yet Smith can rest assured the danger posed by his team was already being heard loud and clear by his opposite number.

Villa have failed to beat Brentford in four meetings over the previous two seasons, while the Bees can lay claim to have been comfortably the better team in the three occasions involving Bruce.

Games between the two have typically spelled trouble for Villa’s boss, last season’s 0-0 draw at Villa Park and 2-1 defeat at Griffin Park both coming when his position was under severe scrutiny.

The positive start to the current campaign means there is a little less pressure this time around. But this is still likely to be Villa’s sternest test to date and a positive result or performance would go a long way to silencing the doubters.

“They are a very good Championship team and have been now for years. They will cause any team trouble,” said Bruce. “Could they be contenders this season? I wouldn’t be surprised.

“They recruit well, they sell well and have a formula which has worked for years.

“Little tiny Brentford? They are not little in the way they are as a team.

“It doesn’t matter how big your stadium is, it is what you have on the pitch and they have some good players.”