Brentford vs Tottenham Prediction

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Amazon Prime Video (UK, NI, CI, IoM); USA – TV channel: USA Network
Online: Stream via NBCSports.com

Brentford vs Tottenham Prediction Match Overview

As part of our Boxing Day Premier League predictions, Brentford vs Tottenham is the early kick-off and hence the first match of the Premier League’s recommencement. Brentford have several players who are doubtful, as stated above. Tottenham had numerous players playing at the World Cup. Ben Davies, Eric Dier, Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg, Son Heung-Min, and Harry Kane should be able to play, given their respective teams were eliminated at or before the quarter-final stage. Hugo Lloris, Ivan Perisic, and World Cup winner Cristian Romero advanced further and will be given more leave. They will likely not feature in Brentford vs Tottenham.

Brentford enter the match six weeks removed from a massive upset at the Etihad Stadium, beating Manchester City 2-1. Ivan Toney scored two goals, including a last-gasp 98th-minute winner to gain Brentford the three points. This win was their first in five games. Tottenham also played out a thrilling match, coming from behind three times to eventually beat Leeds 4-3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Rodrigo Bentancur was the hero that day with two late goals, but he is suspended and injured for this game.

With such a long gap between both teams’ previous wins and this upcoming game, there will likely be no momentum for either. Therefore, with Brentford generally strong at home and Tottenham adversely affected by players returning from the World Cup and some not featuring at all, this game could be very tight and even. This London derby is intriguing.

Brentford vs Tottenham Team News

Injuries and Suspensions

Might not play: Ajer, Baptiste, Hickey, Strakosha (Brentford); Davies (Tottenham)

Will not play: Jansson (Brentford); Richarlison, Bentancur (Tottenham)

Possible Lineups

Brentford (3-5-2): David Raya; Rico Henry, Ethan Pinnock, Ben Mee, Zanka, Mads Roerslev; Frank Onyeka, Vitaly Janelt, Mathias Jensen; Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney

Tottenham (3-4-2-1) Fraser Forster; Ben Davies, Eric Dier, Clement Lenglet; Matt Doherty, Yves Bissouma, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Emerson; Son Heung-Min, Dejan Kulusevski; Harry Kane

Brentford vs Tottenham Prediction Analysis

Midfield Battle

We expect this to be a ferociously contested match, and the midfield will be a crucial area. Both teams will likely play three at the back, but Tottenham tend to play two men wide, whereas Brentford will pack the midfield with three and play Toney and Mbeumo up front. Therefore, we expect Hojbjerg and Bissouma to be the two-player midfield patrolling in the centre for Tottenham. Hojbjerg and Bissouma will likely be their usual tenacious selves, putting in many challenges and not letting Brentford settle on the ball for a moment. Both teams tend to favour counter-attacking football, so it should be interesting to see who has more of the ball. Tottenham are the bigger club, so perhaps the onus is on them to take the game to Brentford, but this is different from how they tend to play. We expect an end-to-end match, with neither having a stranglehold on possession.

Bissouma and Hojbjerg are technically a man down to Janelt, Onyeka, and Jensen. However, Kane likes to drop into midfield from his centre-forward position and attempt to run the show. Regardless, Hojbjerg and Bissouma are both strong competitors with good fitness, stamina, and passing ability. Therefore, we envision them being strong enough to compete well with the Brentford three, who are also athletic and powerful. Consequently, it is a good matchup. The Spurs men must get the ball from their centre-backs and try to play passes out wide so that the wing-backs can create. Equally, Onyeka, Jensen and Janelt must be busy and industrious for Brentford.

Wide Areas and Attackers

Suppose the Brentford midfielders allow the Tottenham players time in Brentford vs Tottenham (which we think they generally won’t). In that case, Hojbjerg and Bissouma can pick out Son and Kulusevski on the wings. Equally, the Brentford midfield three must look for their wing-backs and try to feed the ball into Toney and Mbeumo. Both teams will also build from the back, with Dier and Mee good at playing long diagonal balls out to the wing-backs or feeding the wing-backs deeper as they play out up the flanks. The two teams can also get their forward players into the game by involving the midfielders. Indeed, Toney and Mbeumo for Brentford and Son, Kulusekvsi, and Kane for Spurs, are all potent attacking weapons. We expect Davies to support Doherty in the left-hand channel to try bringing Son into the game. Doherty and the other three wing-backs in this match will be up and down constantly, as the two teams’ tactics depend on their wing-backs’ quality and work rate. The wing-backs for Spurs will link up with Son and Kulusevski, trying to find little gaps where they can work their way into the box.

On other occasions, they will overload the wingers to put crosses into the box. We expect Brentford, in particular, to play lots of balls into the box, as Toney is good on the air and in the ground. As well as Son and Kuluseski’s trickery in coming inside to shoot, Spurs will look to create chances for Kane, and he must take them after his World Cup hangover. However, Kane is a great creator himself and when he drops deep will look to find Son and Kulusevski running beyond him with beautiful passes. Henry and Roerslev must also make themselves available to support the Brentford forwards. We would expect to see Jensen drive into the box sometimes too. Brentford are strong at set pieces, but this is a relatively tall Tottenham side and must try to repel the Bees. Brentford might see Forster in goal as an area of weakness, as he is second-choice. He will only play because Lloris is unavailable after playing in the World Cup Final last Sunday.

Beat the Bookmaker Brentford vs Tottenham Prediction

Brentford vs Tottenham is a tough match to call. Brentford tend to give most teams a game at home, and the game becomes even harder to predict due to this six-week break. Brentford have a real chance here, however. Tottenham have not looked on their game for a while. Indeed, they have lost three of their last five and edged past Bournemouth and Leeds in the others. Without Lloris, Romero, Bentancur, Richarlison, and Perisic, their squad is undoubtedly weaker. However, they still have more than enough in attack to score goals in what might be a topsy-turvy game. The outcome is difficult to predict, but it might be a draw with goals. Both teams have been conceding goals recently, and both have enough attacking quality to score goals. Early kick-offs are often slow affairs, but the first game back in the EPL season might be a good one to watch.

Brentford 2-2 Tottenham; Over 2.5 Goals

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