Saturday afternoon sees Brighton & Hove Albion make a visit to the Brentford Community Stadium. The two teams last faced off against each other in 2017 in the Championship, their meeting ending in a stalemate. But can the home side gain an advantage this time around?
The Bees have gotten to a flying start in their first charge in the top division after 74 years and currently sit 10th place in the league. With one win and two draws in their opening three fixtures, the sky is the limit for the home side. They came out on top against Premier League giants Arsenal and also salvaged two draws away against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa. The home advantage could definitely add to Brentford’s undefeated run so far, as they look to extend it.
Frank Onyeka and Fosu Henry should be available for the match, while Joshua Dasilva remains out through an injury. Thomas Frank so far has utilized a back three, 3-4-1-2 or 3-5-2 formation. Ivan Toney is a threat in the opposition box, as he is extremely capable of finding spaces between the opposition defenders. So far, he has only scored one goal but he has a high xG in the fixtures so far.
The Bees rank 14th in the number of shots taken, an area where they can definitely improve.
Brentford also sit at a respectable 10th place in forward passes, which suggests that they do more than just sit deep and defend – they look to play forward whenever possible. They have also conceded just one goal in three matches which demonstrates how capable they are defensively.
Brighton meanwhile started the season brightly with two wins in their opening two matches against Burnley and Brighton but have since lost at home to Everton. The Seagulls will be looking to overturn their home defeat with a victory over Brentford. They currently sit in 8th place in the league table, just one place above their opponents.
Graham Potter employed a back three, 3-4-2-1 formation last time around, but he might switch back to his preferred more attacking 4-4-1-1 formation with Maupay leading the lineup supported by Trossard. Maupay will definitely be the man to watch out for, he has already scored two goals in three matches and is proving just how lethal he can be in front of the goal. Tariq Lamptey, Solly March and Dan Burn remain sidelined through injuries.
Looking at the stats, Graham Potter’s men rank in a respectable 7th place in the shots taken metric while they stand in at 2nd place in forward passes. So far, they have been progressive in attack.
Brighton will definitely have their work cut out if they are to come out on top against the Bees. It will be interesting to see if they adapt a more cautious approach or go all guns blazing.
Brentford are definitely a strong side at home. A draw could be a more likely scenario.
