Brentford hosts an in-form Newcastle United in their first home game at the Gtech Community Stadium in April. The Bees have hit a bit of a slump in their encouraging second season in the Premier League and face a Newcastle side intent on securing their best finish in decades.
The Magpies are strongly holding their own in the third place in the Premier League table and refuse to give up. Eddie Howe’s side are playing like a team that deserves Champions League football and ousting some of the best in England.
With that being said, Brentford are a different beast to face at the Gtech Community Stadium and have blown away some major Premier League sides this season – including Manchester United and Liverpool.
Thomas Frank’s side are desperate for a win to reignite their own hopes for a European spot. With both teams desperate to win this game to boost their chances of European football for next season, this one should be an end-to-end slobber knocker.
Last 5 Games
Newcastle United definitely hold the advantage when it comes to recent form between the two sides, as they’ve been in amazing form since the loss in the Carabao Cup final. Brighton, meanwhile, have seen their form dip and are winless in their last three games as well.
Brentford: 9th
Loss: 1-0 vs Manchester United
Draw: 3-3 vs Brighton
Draw: 1-1 vs Leicester City
Win: 2-0 vs Southampton
Loss: 1-0 vs Everton
Newcastle United: 3rd
Win: 5-1 vs West Ham United
Win: 2-0 vs Manchester United
Win: 2-1 vs Nottingham Forest
Win: 2-1 vs Wolves
Loss: 2-0 vs Manchester City
Predicted Starting Lineups
Brentford have two important defenders in the form of Kristoffer Ajer and Vitaly Janelt. Ajer is suffering from a calf injury that has kept him out for a long time but is expected to be back before the end of the campaign. Janelt, however, could make the squad for this game after recovering from a knee issue.
Their young striker Keane Lewis-Potter is also still out of action with a knee injury, while Frank Onyeka could return for this clash too.
Newcastle United are missing key midfielder Miguel Almiron, who is still recovering from a nasty thigh injury he picked up in March. Emil Krafth is another long-term absentee after suffering an ACL injury in August, while Ryan Fraser is still training with the U21s.
Brentford: Raya, Hickey, Jansson, Pinnock, Mee, Henry, Damsgaard, Norgaard, Jensen, Wissa, Toney
Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton, Murphy, Saint-Maximin, Isak
Head-to-Head
Newcastle United and Brentford have only faced each other 15 times in their history, with the Magpies dominating the majority of the meetings. Newcastle have won 10 out of the 15 times they’ve faced each other, with Brentford coming up as victors on four occasions.
Newcastle picked up a huge win over the Bees in their previous meeting earlier this season, blowing them away with a 5-1 win. Guimaraes scored a brace to inspire a big win for his side.
Jacob Murphy also got a goal in the game, with Brentford defender Ethan Pinnock scoring an unfortunate own goal.
Where the game will be decided
Newcastle have proven that the allegations of them being an ‘annoying team’ to play against is just wrong. They’ve produced some brilliant, electric attacking football in recent games and blew away West Ham with their clinical work in the mid-week.
This game should be a case of Newcastle’s exhilarating, in-form forwards going up against Brentford’s well-organized backline. The Bees will have their hands full in working to keep the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin, Guimaraes, or Alexander Isak quiet.
Saint-Maximin and Guimaraes will assume the role of spearheading possession into the final third and create most of their chances. Kieran Trippier can be a menace with his crosses too.
Brentford will need to use their deep, five-man backline to not allow Newcastle to get any freedom around their final third. Moreover, they also need to be much better in counter-attacks or swift breaks than what they managed against Manchester United.
With both sides having pretty solid backlines and forward players capable of changing games on their own, this should be an enticing, tight affair.
Prediction
We back Newcastle to snatch away a win in this game. This should have plenty of goals in it because both teams possess rich attacking players. Brentford might have an impressive home record this season, but their general form has dipped.
Newcastle are flying high and their momentum itself should drive the players to get another compelling win on the road.
Prediction: Brentford 1-3 Newcastle United
Odds*
Brentford to win: 13/5
Draw: 12/5
Newcastle to win: 11/10
Brentford getting a 13/5 odds means the bookmakers don’t believe they’ll get a win. These odds have a 27.7% winning outcome, meaning that if one was to be $1 on a Brentford win and they got the job done – they’d get a $3.60 return.
In terms of Newcastle’s winning chance, their 11/10 odds mean they’re given a 52.38% of winning. If one was to bet $1 on them winning, then a Newcastle win would fetch them $2.10 – meaning a $1.10 profit.
*By Betfair At the time of writing
Kick-off Time
The match will get underway at 3 PM GMT and the referee will be Chris Kavanagh.