Brentford v Tottenham – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Brentford host Tottenham at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday. The Bees finished just a point behind Spurs last season in ninth and won away at Tottenham when they last met in May. Both teams had prolific goalscorers last season in Toney and Kane but the former is suspended and the latter looks set to join Bayern Munich.

Brentford Form

Thomas Frank’s side have an excellent 2022-23 campaign. At one stage, they went on a run of just one loss in 16 matches going into April. A 1-0 loss at Man Utd ended that streak and further defeats followed to Newcastle and Wolves. There was a chance of the season petering out but instead, the Bees returned to top form.

After a 2-0 win at Chelsea, they beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 at home. Their sole defeat in the final seven fixtures followed in a 1-0 setback away at Liverpool. Their season ended on a three-match winning streak despite Ivan Toney missing the final two games. Brentford beat West Ham 2-0, won 3-1 at Tottenham, and then shocked Man City 1-0 at home in Round 38.

Brentford Team News

The big blow is that Ivan Toney is suspended due to betting breaches. He scored 21 goals last season and won’t play again until mid-January. Bryan Mbuemo, Frank Onyeka, and Christian Norgaard should shake off preseason knocks to be involved. David Raya is set to leave for Arsenal so Dutch international Mark Flekken will play in goal.

Nathan Collins has been signed for £23m from Wolves and will start at the back. Pontus Jansson has been allowed to depart the club. As always, it’s a question of whether Thomas Frank goes with a back five or a back three.     

Brentford Motivation

If Frank goes with a back four and a 4-3-3 shape, then you can be sure that he is going all-out to attack Tottenham. If it’s a 5-3-2 shape, then his side will be more conservative and focused on counters.

The Bees will play for a win at home and won’t settle for a draw.

Tottenham Form

Spurs finished in eighth place last season having looked very likely to make the top four at one stage. They scraped a 2-1 win against Brighton (thanks to a VAR error) in April but they lost five of their next seven matches. There were poor defeats at home to Bournemouth (3-2) and a truly shocking 6-1 thrashing at Newcastle.

The final six matches saw three more defeats. After leaking a last-minute goal to lose 4-3 to Liverpool, they beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at home. A 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa (zero shots at all in the first half) preceded a 3-1 loss at home to Brentford. Spurs won 4-1 at Leeds on the final day to relegate their opponents.

Tottenham Team News

Ryan Sessegnon, Bryan Gil, and Rodrigo Bentancur are all ruled out for this one. However, the future of Harry Kane dominates the headlines. He looks set to join Bayern Munich although that move could still fall through. Either way, it’s unlikely he will play on Sunday. Richarlison could therefore lead the line.

Guglielmo Vicario is set to play in goal with Hugo Lloris’ Spurs career seemingly over. Micky van de Ven should start at the back after a £43m move from Wolfsburg. Giovani Lo Celso is back in the plans and is competing with Oliver Skipp to start in midfield.

Tottenham Motivation

Spurs are set to play a very attacking style under Ange Postecoglou. They are set to move to a back four and will play on the front foot in matches.

With the doubt over Kane’s future, Richarlison will be very motivated to score in attack. A draw wouldn’t be a terrible result but Tottenham are going to play to win.

Key Stats

Brentford have won 5 of their last 6 PL matches

Brentford have lost just once in 15 home EPL matches (8 wins, 6 draws)

Brentford have seen Both Teams Score in 6 of their last 8 home league matches

Tottenham have lost 5 of their last 8 matches (21 goals conceded)

Spurs have just 1 win in 8 away EPL matches (lost 5, drew 2)

Verdict

The Bees are great at home but Toney is a real loss. Spurs tend to struggle on the road but they have a new coach and energy. This match isn’t easy to predict but we should see a decent number of goals.