A bumper 10 days or so of Premier League action begins on Friday night when two of the lesser lights get their chance to shine on the spotlight when Brentford welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to the capital.
Both teams have made acceptable starts to the season and will be looking to build on that and have themselves in good shape when the division pauses for the World Cup in four weekends so this should be a competitive fixture.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League channels with the build-up beginning at 7pm. Kick off is at 8pm.
Brentford
After doing so well to stay up with ease in their first season in the Premier League, this was going to be a big test of a season for the Bees. So far they are alive to the test as they head into this weekend just outside the top half of the table despite their humbling at Newcastle last week. For all their start to the season has been a positive one, they are only four points off the drop zone and certainly don’t need the beating they took last week to descend into a poor run.
One concern Brentford fans might have is that after last week only the bottom two have conceded more goals than them and generally they have struggled to contain opponents all season. They have scored 16 goals, which has them sixth in the table for that discipline, but nine of those goals came in wins over an abject Man Utd side on the night and a Leeds team who beat themselves. They average just a goal a game in the other matches.
Brighton and Hove Albion
Just when everything looked rosy for Brighton and Hove Albion and they were continuing to look up and forward as a club, Chelsea came and took Graham Potter away from them. We shouldn’t say that they are back to square one but there is likely to be a transition period under Roberto De Zerbi. He hasn’t started too badly with a draw at Liverpool in a game they should have won and a narrow defeat to Tottenham in a contest they deserved something from.
The test for the Seagulls under their new manager is whether they can convert a higher percentage of the chances they create than they did under Potter. That was always a criticism of them because their football deserved so much more than it got. The other question for them is whether they can play as well under the Italian. He has experience in guiding underrated sides to good positions, which suggests they can but they need to show it on the pitch.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THE PREMIER LEAGUE! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Team News
Brentford will be able to call upon the services of summer signing Keane Lewis-Potter for this match after he has recovered from a foot injury. There will be no Pontus Jansson or Christian Norgaard though as they are out injured.
Brighton and Hove Albion have provided no new injury concerns going into this match. Their squad will still be coming to terms with the shock retirement of Enock Mwepu earlier in the week after he was diagnosed with a heart condition.
Betting
When this match was coming up on the radar I was expecting to be backing goals but the brutal beating that Brentford took last week makes me wonder if they will set up a little more defensive to ensure a repeat doesn’t happen, especially with the number of goals they are conceding at the minute. Both matches between the two sides were low scoring last season and while I fancy Brighton to win this one we don’t have quite the price or Asian line I was hoping for.
I’ll play a possible Brighton win another way though and take Leandro Trossard to find the net at any time. Trossard found the back of the net in both meetings with Brentford last season and with the Bees conceding more goals this time around that bodes well. The Belgium international should also be full of confidence after bagging a hat trick at Anfield a couple of weeks ago, to add to the two goals he already had this season. Trossard should be in the sorts of areas that Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy were in for Newcastle last week and if the midfield can find him I see no reason why the Belgian can’t bag another against Brentford here.
Tips
Back L.Trossard to score anytime for a 2/10 stake at 4.20 with Betfair
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
