Brentford and Burnley will be eager to return to winning ways when they clash at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
The 2025/26 Premier League season resumes this weekend with Gameweek 13. The latest round of fixtures starts on Saturday with three simultaneous matches, including Brentford vs Burnley at the Gtech Community Stadium.
A stumbling block emerged in Brentford’s recent resurgence last week, as the West London outfit squandered a slender lead to lose 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion, with Jack Hinselwood scoring a late winner. However, Keith Andrews has continued to make his mark on his squad, and if results go their way in Gameweek 13, the Bees can climb into the top half of the Premier League table.
On the other hand, Burnley’s issues have worsened in the last few weeks, with the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea exacerbating the woes. That defeat dropped the Clarets to 19th in the Premier League standings, with only Wolverhampton Wanderers below them. However, with Nottingham Forest and West Ham United still not pulling away much, a positive result this weekend can take Scott Parker’s men out of the drop zone.
The most recent Premier League clash between Brentford and Burnley ended in a 3-0 win for the West London club in October 2023. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Brentford
Keith Andrews has no new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Brentford manager will be bereft of the services of only three first-team players vs Burnley on Saturday.
Antoni Milambo, Joshua Dasilva, and Fabio Carvalho remain in the treatment room due to their long-term knee injuries. Milambo and Carvalho will not play again this season, but Dasilva may return in a few weeks.
Caoimhin Kelleher is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Brentford lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Burnley on Saturday. The backline will feature Michael Kayode, Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg, and Kristoffer Ajer.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Jordan Henderson and Yehor Yarmolyuk in the double pivot. Mikkel Damsgaard will reprise the no. 10 role, with Dango Ouattara and Kevin Schade being the two wide attackers. Finally, Igor Thiago will lead the line for Brentford against Burnley on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Kayode, van den Berg, Collins, Ajer; Henderson, Yarmolyuk; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago
Burnley
Like his counterpart in the Brentford dugout, Scott Parker has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to the Gtech Community Stadium. The Burnley manager will be without only three first-team players on Saturday.
Zeki Amdouni is a long-term absentee due to a knee injury, while Jordan Beyer (hamstring) and Connor Roberts (Achilles) also remain in the treatment room. The duo should return in a few weeks, with both players pencilled in to be back in January.
Martin Dubravka will take his usual spot between the sticks, with Burnley lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Brentford on Saturday. The backline will feature Kyle Walker, Axel Tuanzebe, Maxime Esteve, and Quilindschy Hartman.
As for the midfield unit, Josh Cullen and Florentino Luis will likely pair up in the double pivot, with Lesley Ugochukwu reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Zian Flemming will spearhead the Burnley attack against Brentford, with Jaidon Anthony and Loum Tchaouna completing the numbers in the offensive third.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Dubravka; Walker, Tuanzebe, Esteve, Hartman; Cullen, Florentino; Tchaouna, Ugochukwu, Anthony; Flemming
Key Stats
- The home side has won all four Premier League meetings between Brentford and Burnley, with the Bees winning their home ties 2-0 and 3-0 respectively. However, Burnley have won five of their last seven league games vs Brentford (L2), only one fewer than they had in their first 21 league clashes with the Bees (W6 D8 L7).
- Brentford have won their last ten Premier League home games against promoted sides since losing their first-ever such match against Norwich City in November 2021. The Bees have scored at least twice in all these victories (28 goals in total).
- Only Arsenal and Manchester City have won more home games (5 each) and scored more home goals (16 each) than Brentford in the Premier League this season (W4 G12).
- Brentford have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Premier League this season (11), including a 2-1 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend. Since their promotion to the competition in 2021, they have dropped more points when ahead than any other top-flight side (88).
- Burnley have the lowest expected goals total of any side in the Premier League this season (8.7), and they are the only side to have fewer than 100 shots so far (98). As it stands, their rate of 8.2 shots per game is the lowest in a single Premier League campaign (since 1997/98). Meanwhile, only Wolverhampton Wanderers (27) and West Ham United (25) have conceded more Premier League goals than Burnley (24) this season, with the Clarets’ two clean sheets coming against fellow promoted sides Sunderland and Leeds United.
Player to Watch
Igor Thiago
While Zian Flemming, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Dango Ouattara were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Igor Thiago as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Brentford and Burnley at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Only Erling Haaland (14) has scored more Premier League goals than Igor Thiago (9) this season. A goal for the Brazilian striker in this match will be the earliest in terms of games (13) in which a Brentford player has reached double figures in a single campaign in the competition. Expect the 24-year-old to be determined to continue his fine run this weekend.
Prediction
Brentford 2-0 Burnley
Burnley may not have been too dreadful in the recent losing run, having produced resolute performances. However, their offensive shortcomings are holding the visitors back, and that will be their undoing again this weekend. While the Clarets will take their game to their hosts, they will not trouble Caoimhin Kelleher much.
Meanwhile, Brentford’s resurgence under Keith Andrews will continue, with Igor Thiago and Dango Ouattara delivering the goods in the final third. With Burnley not being solid enough to keep the home side at bay, the West London outfit should return to winning ways and keep a clean sheet. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for Andews and his charges.