Champions League-chasing Newcastle United will make the trip to west London when they meet Brentford, hoping to widen their lead in the top four this Saturday.
Brentford made the trip to Old Trafford in midweek, providing a good account of themselves with a rugged display but still fell to a 1-0 disappointing defeat. Marcus Rashford netted the game’s only goal in the 27th minute, and United’s shaky defence held firm to sweat out a narrow victory.
Although the Bees might have received plaudits from across the Premier League this season, they are now without a win in their last three Premier League games, playing out a 1-1 draw against relegation scrappers Leicester and suffering a narrow defeat to Everton.
Still, Thomas Frank’s side have largely punched above their weight this season. And the Bees are in a strong position to secure a remarkable top-half finish, sitting in ninth place in the Premier League standings and pushing for a European spot. Brentford now have some ground to make up; they are three points behind sixth-placed Brighton for the Europa Conference League berth.
As for the visitors, Newcastle United blew West Ham United away in midweek, pouncing on the Hammers’ defensive blunders to smash them 5-1 at the London Stadium, laying down a stunning marker off the back of marking their return from the international break last weekend with an impressive 2-0 victory at home against top-four hopefuls Manchester United.
However, the former Bournemouth boss will be desperate for his side to earn another statement victory in the capital. The Magpies are riding a crest wave of momentum, and the mood in Eddie Howe’s camp remains upbeat.
Eddie Howe’s side are currently enjoying a four-game winning streak. Well-placed to secure a Champions League spot this season, the Magpies will fancy themselves against Saturday’s hosts, having pumped Brentford 5-1 at St. James’ Park in their reverse meeting on October 8.
Team News & Tactics
Brentford
💬 A quick turnaround with Thomas Frank meeting the media ahead of Saturday's visit from Newcastle United#BRENEW pic.twitter.com/SJo5j9vRiH
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) April 6, 2023
Keane Lewis-Potter (knee) and Kristoffer Ajer (calf) are expected to miss out again this weekend. In addition, Frank Onyeka and Vitaly Janelt could face late fitness tests. Shandon Baptiste is also back available after serving a one-match suspension.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank deployed a 3-5-2 formation against Manchester United and could keep the same setup here. But they will want to go toe-to-toe with Newcastle United in front of their home crowd.
David Raya will man the goal for the hosts. The Spaniard will be shielded by a three-man defence comprising Pontus Jansson, Ben Mee, and Ethan Pinnock. Rico Henry could retain his spot at left wing-back. Meanwhile, Aaron Hickey should come back into the starting XI on the opposite flank, having missed the midweek loss at Manchester United.
Up ahead in the engine room, Vitaly Janelt looks like he could recover in time for the game and be available to start this fixture. If he misses out, Yoane Wissa is more than capable of slotting into the No. 8 role alongside the likes of Christian Norgaard and Mathias Jensen.
Having already netted 17 Premier League strikes this season, talismanic striker Ivan Toney will spearhead the attack for the Bees this weekend. The England international will once again be joined in the attacking third by his long-time strike partner-in-crime Bryan Mbeumo, who will look to create some good shooting opportunities for himself given the power he’s able to generate from his left foot.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Raya; Jansson, Pinnock, Mee; Hickey, Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt, Henry; Mbeumo, Toney
Newcastle United
Long-term absentees Miguel Almiron (thigh) and Emil Krafth (knee) remain unavailable. Otherwise, Eddie Howe has no fresh injury concerns heading to the G-Tech Stadium. So he will be tempted to name a similar starting XI following the superb midweek victory against West Ham United.
The Magpies are in fantastic form and have proven to be an incredibly difficult team to beat. In fact, no team has lost fewer matches than Eddie Howe’s men this term. That is a credit to their team’s mindset to not concede despite employing a high press and heavy metal football, with every player ready to put in a shift.
Howe has been insistent on keeping the back five the same for most of the game, and that is unlikely to change here. Nick Pope remains certain to feature in goal, with the Magpies lining up in their customary 4-3-3 system in front of him. Fabian Schar will continue to operate alongside Sven Botman at the heart of the Newcastle defence, flanked by the creative right-back Kieran Trippier and the unorthodox towering left-back Dan Burn.
We go again on Saturday! 👊
🔜 #BRENEW pic.twitter.com/YyeqVBW6ye
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 6, 2023
Bruno Guimaraes will sit at the base to reprise the Anchor Man role. The Brazilian will receive defensive support from Sean Longstaff, while Joelinton will look to provide the forward thrust from the middle of the park after scoring a brilliant brace last time out.
Wilson moved into double digits for the campaign in midweek, scoring twice against his favourite opponent, West Ham, before being substituted by Alexander Isak, who also found the back of the net. This gives Howe a healthy dilemma to have, with both frontmen pushing each other.
While Wilson boasts a superb tally of three goals from just over 75 minutes in the last two outings, Isak provided more in terms of hold-up and link-up play. So expect the roles to be reversed again at the weekend, with Wilson having to come off the bench. Out wide, both Allan Saint-Maximin and Jacob Murphy were brilliant against West Ham and will look to continue their fine form here.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Saint-Maximin
Key Stats
- Brentford are unbeaten in ten Premier League home games, and their only defeat there this season came against Arsenal.
- Newcastle United have only won two of their last six league games on the road.
- The visitors are unbeaten in 21 of their last 23 Premier League matches.
- No team in Europe’s top-five leagues have hit the woodwork more times this season than Newcastle United (18 times). Unlucky, but another stat for Newcastle fans to brag about in the off-season provided a happy top-four finish.
- Eddie Howe’s men have won each of their last four Premier League outings.
Player to Watch
Allan Saint-Maximin
Saint-Maximin appears to be getting back to his brilliant best for Newcastle United just at the right moment, with the club looking to secure a spot in the UEFA Champions League next season.
In a week that saw him pile the agony on first Manchester United and then West Ham United’s backlines with his fearless runs and led to Howe insisting he won’t be sold this summer, Saint-Maximin came close to finally finding the back of the net. But he was denied by Lukasz Fabiański.
While goals have eluded him throughout the season, assists have been the name of the game for the Frenchman in the last two games. Saint-Maximin floated in a peach of a cross for Wilson to head home at West Ham just days after his knockdown at the back-post resulted in Joe Willock scoring the opener against Manchester United.
Prediction
Brentford 1-2 Newcastle United
This encounter has the makings of being jam-packed with goalmouth action, as both sides like to play transitional football and haven’t been keeping many clean sheets of late. Brentford’s season has been nearly all positive, with one setback coming when they were beaten 5-1 in the reverse fixture.
It is expected to be a much tighter game this time since the Bees are always competitive in these games against the current top-six sides. Having said that, Newcastle have showcased over the past week that they are capable of picking teams apart, as their electrifying offensive talent looks to have regained its lost mojo after largely misfiring in the months of February and March.
While the Bees could theoretically frustrate the Magpies for long periods, the hosts will likely release the pressure with an early goal in the first half. The visitors’ intensity, intent press, and attacking quality should give the visitors another vital three points as Eddie Howe and co. look to keep the momentum rolling.
