Brentford will welcome Bournemouth to Brentford Community Stadium this Saturday for their 20th round fixture of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Venue: Brentford Community Stadium (London)
Key Statistics
Brentford are unbeaten in six Premier League games (W3, D3).
They have not lost at home in the PL in four games.
Brentford have failed to win any of their three league games against newly-promoted opponents at any venue this season (D2, L1).
The hosts are one of only four PL sides yet to concede first and win this season (D4, L4).
Bournemouth have conceded 39 league goals this season. No team has conceded more.
The visitors have lost their five games in all competitions, failing to score in four of those games.
They have kept one clean sheet across their last 23 top-flight away games (W3, D2, L18).
No PL side has ever conceded more away goals at this stage than Bournemouth’s current total of 29.
Head to head
In 14 head-to-head meetings between both sides in all competitions, Brentford have five wins, while Bournemouth have three wins.
The visitors are winless in seven away H2Hs (D4, L3).
Latest performances in all competitions
Brentford: L-W-W-D-D
Bournemouth: L-L-L-L-L
Brentford
Brentford’s best-ever 18-game start to a Premier League season reached a new height in their last league outing as they took maximum points off Liverpool in a 3-1 win at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Even without top-scorer Ivan Toney, Thomas Frank’s men scored three times against Liverpool with goals from Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and an own goal from Ibrahima Konate sealing the win for Brentford.
The win means that the hosts have taken maximum points off Manchester United (4-0), Manchester City (2-1) and Liverpool (3-1). They also held Chelsea to a goalless draw at home, proving they are top dogs against big teams.
However, they struggle against the small teams and are currently winless in three games against newly promoted sides (D2, L1). Moreover, they come into this tie on the back of a 1-0 loss to a struggling West Ham side in the FA Cup.
On that evidence, it will be erroneous to suggest that this game against a defensively poor Bournemouth side is a walkover for the hosts. But considering that Brentford are unbeaten in seven head-to-heads with their visitors at home, this could be another of such fixtures where they take maximum points.
Should they win, they could climb into the top six if other team results favour them.
Possible Brentford starting line-up
David Raya, Mads Roerslev Rasmussen, Ben Mee, Ethan Pinnock, Rico Henry, Vitaly Janelt, Christian Nørgaard, Mathias Jensen, Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa.
Injured: Pontus Jansson, Shandon Baptiste
Doubtful: Frank Onyeka, Aaron Hickey
Suspended: None
Bournemouth
Bournemouth remain in the relegation fight despite changing manager early in the season.
The visitors linger uncomfortably close to the bottom three, following three straight defeats without reply. Manager Gary O’Neil has hit back at his critics by stating that he only cares for the “betterment of the club.”
But to achieve his lofty ambitions in the short term, he must end a run of five straight defeats in all competitions.
The Cherries may need many goals to finally secure victory here, too, after conceding 11 times in four successive PL away defeats ahead of this fixture.
In fact, they’ve kept just one clean sheet across their last 23 top-flight away games (W3, D2, L18), while no PL side has ever conceded more away goals at this stage than Bournemouth’s current total of 29.
Possible Bournemouth starting line-up
Mark Travers, Jack Stacey, Marcos Senesi, Lloyd Kelly, Jordan Zemura, Ryan Christie, Jefferson Lerma, Lewis Cook, Philip Billing, Dominic Solanke, Kieffer Moore.
Injured: David Brooks, Neto, Marcus Tavernier, Junior Stanislas, Ryan Fredericks
Doubtful: Jefferson Lerma
Suspended: Adam Smith
Odds
Prediction
Brentford 2-0 Bournemouth
