Brentford will welcome Everton to the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon, aiming to get back to winning ways.
Brentford are without a win in the last three Premier League matches, and they will be eager to secure three points vs Everton on Saturday. The Bees have picked up just one win from the last six Premier League matches, but they have made themselves difficult to beat.
However, the fans will be expecting all three points here, and it remains to be seen whether the players can step up and deliver. On the other hand, Everton have shown improvement in recent weeks, with three wins from the last four Premier League matches.
The Toffees are unbeaten in five of the last six meetings against Brentford, and they will hope to pull off an upset away from home. Both teams are quite evenly matched, and this is likely to be a cracking contest. The two teams are currently level on points, and they will be desperate for a top-half finish. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Brentford
Fabio Carvalho is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, while Antoni Milambo, Joshua Dasilva, Aaron Hickey, Vitaly Janelt, and Rico Henry are also ruled out. Brentford will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Everton, with Caoimhin Kelleher in goal.
Michael Kayode and Keane Lewis-Potter will start as the full-backs. They will look to keep things tight defensively and hit the visitors on the break. Nathan Collins will form the central defensive partnership alongside Sepp van den Berg.
As for the midfield unit, Jordan Henderson and Yehor Yarmolyuk will look to protect the back four and win the ball back for their side. Mikkel Damsgaard will start as the central attacking midfielder and help create opportunities in the final third.
Dango Ouattara and Kevin Schade will start on the flanks. They will look to open up the opposition defence with their pace, flair, and movement. Finally, Igor Thiago will spearhead the Brentford attack vs Everton on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Yarmolyuk, Henderson; Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago
Everton
Jack Grealish misses out with a foot injury, and Carlos Alcaraz misses out with a knock as well. Everton are likely to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Brentford, with Jordan Pickford in goal.
Nathan Patterson and Vitaliy Mykolenko will start in the full-back positions. They will look to keep things tight defensively. Meanwhile, Michael Keane will start alongside James Tarkowski at the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, Idrissa Gueye will start alongside James Garner in the double pivot in the middle of the park. They will look to protect the back four and break down the opposition’s attacking moves.
Iliman Ndiaye and Tyler Dibling will start on the flanks. They will look to create opportunities on the break. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will start as the attacking midfielder, and he will look to link the midfield with the attack. Finally, Beto will lead the line for Everton vs Brentford here.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Patterson, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Gueye, Garner; Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Dibling; Beto
Key Stats
- Everton have picked up three wins from their last six matches in all competitions.
- Brentford have picked up one win from their last six matches in all competitions.
- Everton are unbeaten in five of their last six meetings against Brighton. Meanwhile, 14 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two teams.
- Since Gameweek 19 in the Premier League, only Arsenal (28) and Manchester United (26) have collected more points than Everton (21 – W6 D3 L4), with the Toffees winning three of their last four matches (L1).
- Only Crystal Palace (2.04 m/s) have a higher direct speed in the Premier League this season than Brentford (1.89), while only Wolves (28) have recorded fewer build-up attacks in the competition this term than the Bees (29).
Player to Watch
Iliman Ndiaye
The Senegalese international is in spectacular form right now, and Everton will depend on him to grind out all three points. The Merseyside outfit will need him to create opportunities for his teammates in the final third. He will also look to add to his goal tally for the season.
Apart from the recent defeat against Arsenal, Ndiaye has been one of Everton’s best players on the pitch since February. He will look to continue his impressive run of form and deliver a defining performance here.
Prediction
Brentford 1-1 Everton
Both teams are quite evenly matched, and this will be a close contest. Neither side will want to end up with a defeat here. They are level on points in the Premier League, and it will be difficult to separate the two teams. Everton and Brentford are likely to get on the court sheet, but they could end up cancelling each other out. The two teams will share the spoils in a draw.
