Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers are set to square off at the Brentford Community Stadium in Saturday’s bottom-half Premier League showdown.
An atrocious start on last weekend’s trip to Aston Villa saw the Bees concede three times inside the opening 15 minutes in a thumping 4-0 defeat at Villa Park.
Despite Brentford’s mixed start to their second consecutive Premier League season (W3, D5, L4), manager Thomas Frank emerged as a potential candidate to take the Villa job.
But fears regarding Frank’s potential switch to the Villa Park hotseat have vanished in the wake of Unai Emery’s appointment as Steven Gerrard’s successor in Birmingham.
The 49-year-old tactician can now turn his undivided attention to helping his side overcome an underwhelming six-match league form (W1, D2, L3) against one of the worst-performing teams in England’s top flight.
Wolverhampton’s abysmal Premier League start saw the club relieve Bruno Lage of his duties earlier in October after the Wanderers claimed just one win from the opening nine league fixtures (D3, L5).
Interim boss Steve Davis guided the Molineux outfit to a narrow 1-0 home triumph over newly-promoted Nottingham Forest on his touchline debut.
However, he has since overseen back-to-back defeats to fellow bottom-half underachievers Crystal Palace and Leicester City.
Brendan Rodgers’ men ran riot at Molineux last weekend, humbling Wolves 4-0 to leave them two points adrift of safety and pile more pressure on Davis.
Match Preview
Brentford
Despite going winless in consecutive Premier League games in the run-up to this encounter (D1, L1), Brentford will take the field as pre-match favourites, courtesy of their impressive home form this season.
Except for a 3-0 demolition at the hands of pacesetters Arsenal in mid-September, the Bees have gone unbeaten in their five remaining home league outings this term (W3, D2).
Free-scoring striker Ivan Toney will be under the spotlight after netting six goals in his seven Premier League appearances, accounting for 75% of Brentford’s total in these fixtures (6/8).
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Worryingly for travelling fans, Toney’s tally of eight Premier League goals scored this season beats Wolverhampton’s disastrous haul of just five across 12 matches.
Somehow, Wolves’ scoring woes over the past two seasons went unnoticed, as they never found themselves stuck in a relegation battle since rejoining the top flight in 2018.
But a lack of cutting edge cannot be overlooked anymore, as they remain one of only two Premier League sides, alongside basement boys Forest, yet to smash double-digits.
Brentford vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Potential Line-ups
Brentford (3-5-2): David Raya; Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer, Ben Mee; Rico Henry, Mathias Jansen, Frank Onyeka, Vitaly Janelt, Sergi Canos; Ivan Toni, Bryan Mbeumo.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-2-3-1): Jose Sa; Jonny, Max Kilman, Nathan Collins, Rayan Ait-Nouri; Ruben Neves, Leander Dendoncker; Daniel Podence, Goncalo Guedes, Adama Traore; Diego Costa.
How to Watch?
Brentford vs Wolverhampton, alongside all other fixtures in England’s top flight, is available to watch online via live Premier League streams.
Brentford vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Prediction
Another disappointment may force the Molineux hierarchy to reconsider Davis’ interim status until 2023, so league-lowest scorers Wolves will be out to make amends.
No one can accuse them of a lack of trying against Leicester as they attempted a whopping 21 attempts on goal without scoring.
If they can find their feet in front of goal, Brentford’s fragile backline that’s been prone to capitulating multiple times in a single game this season could find themselves in a world of trouble.
We back Wolves to beat the odds and get back to winning ways.
Brentford 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
