Thomas Frank is confident that Brentford can find their clinical edge without Ivan Toney as they welcome Southampton to the Gtech Community Stadium this Saturday.
The Bees were involved in EFL Cup action on Wednesday, narrowly beating League Two side Colchester United courtesy of Keane Lewis-Potter’s first-half strike.
But without the presence of club-record top scorer Ivan Toney against Liverpool, Frank’s side struggled in the attacking areas and were well beaten at Anfield.
However, the Brentford head coach is excited by his new signings and acknowledged it would take time to adapt to his style of play, also confirming Toney would not be available for the fixture.
"We played three average-plus games. Definitely still players growing into it. We still have some players coming back, some new signings, so I'm still understanding how I will put the best squad out there, how I will use new signings.
"We are well aware of what Southampton are capable of. I think they will put up a big challenge for us. We need to hit a top performance with high tempo and high intensity. I'm backing us. If we hit highest level, I back us to win."
"Ivan is training well and in good spirits. I would be happy to have more questions on Toney next time."
Southampton were also involved in midweek action, leaving it late to secure their place in the hat for the third round of the EFL Cup with a 5-3 win against Cardiff.
It marked the Saints’ first win of the new season, having lost their first two Premier League fixtures, the latest of which came against Nottingham Forest at St. Mary’s.
Despite their progression, head coach Russell Martin was left frustrated by the frenetic nature of the game and is hoping for a more measured approach against the Bees.
"I’m really happy with the win and I’m pleased for my young players. But there is also a lot to be annoyed about.
"We conceded three goals and the game descended into chaos in the second half. It was a moment of brilliance for their first goal from a player I have admired for a long time (Rubin Colwill), but we took our foot off the gas and dropped to their intensity.
"That was a big learning curve for the younger players. They took some liberties in the first half and they will be better for the experience. They showed real grit."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brentford – Yoane Wissa
Yoane Wissa has been involved in six goals in his last seven home Premier League starts for Brentford (four goals and two assists), scoring and assisting in each of the last two.
The last player to score and assist in three home appearances in a row was Leroy Sane for Manchester City between September and October 2017.
Southampton – Jan Bednarek
Jan Bednarek has completed more passes than any other Premier League player this season (198), an average of 104 per 90 minutes.
In his previous six top-flight seasons between 2017-18 and 2022-23, Bednarek’s highest average was 49 per 90 minutes in 2020-21.
MATCH PREDICTION: BRENTFORD WIN
Brentford have won their last three Premier League games against Southampton without conceding, winning both home games against Saints by a 3-0 scoreline.
Having beaten Crystal Palace at home on the opening day, the Bees are looking for consecutive home Premier League wins for the first time since last November, while they last won their opening two matches on home soil in a season during their 2018-19 Championship campaign.
Southampton have won just one of their last nine away league games against Brentford (D3 L5), beating them 3-0 in April 2011 while in League One.
The Saints have won both of their league games in London in the Championship last season (1-0 v both Millwall and QPR). However, in the Premier League, they’ve won just one of their last eight visits to the capital (D1 L6), beating Chelsea 1-0 in February 2023.
Despite having the highest average possession in the Premier League so far this season (70.6%), Southampton have lost both of their games 1-0. Only once in their history have they lost their first three league games in a campaign without scoring, doing so in 2001-02.
They have completed 1,175 passes in their two Premier League matches this season under Martin – since 2003-04, only two managers have seen their team complete more passes in their first two Premier League games in charge: Thomas Tuchel (1,459) and Maurizio Sarri (1,223), both at Chelsea.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brentford – 52.8%
Draw – 23.4%
Southampton – 23.8%
Las Palmas 1-1 Real Madrid: Vinicius spot-kick salvages a point for Los Blancos
Vinicius Junior's penalty ensured Real Madrid left the Estadio de Gran Canaria with a point as they drew 1-1 to Las Palmas on Thursday.
Alberto Moleiro had given the hosts a shock lead in the fifth minute, but Vinicius would net from 12 yards to swing the encounter back in their favour, however, Carlo Ancelotti's star-studded line-up were unable to find a way through.
A frantic start to proceedings saw Moleiro produce a moment of magic to skip beyond Aurelien Tchouameni and Eder Militao before firing low into the far corner.
Madrid would register nine shots in the opening 45 minutes, three of which were on target, but they were unable to test Jasper Cillessen in the Las Palms net.
However, parity would be restored when defender Alex Suarez was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area, with Vinicius stepping up to score from the spot.
Kylian Mbappe endured another difficult outing in front of goal, with only two of his nine shots on target as he still awaits his first LaLiga goal for his new side.
Ancelotti's side sit fourth in the early-season standings with five points from their first three games, four behind rivals and table toppers Barcelona.
Data Debrief: Vinicius on target as Mbappe's struggles continue
Vinicius has now scored all his four penalties for Real Madrid in all competitions, all of which have come in 2024.
The Brazilian looked Los Blancos' biggest threat in the forward areas, contributing an expected goals (xG) of 1.23 to Madrid's 2.81 total.
However, it was another night to forget for Mbappe. The Frenchman is the player in the top five European Leagues this season who has had the most shots this term (17) and who has the worst difference between xG (1.8) and goals scored (none).
Las Palmas 1-1 Real Madrid: Vinicius penalty salvages a point for Los Blancos
Vinicius Junior's penalty ensured Real Madrid left the Estadio de Gran Canaria with a point as they drew 1-1 to Las Palmas on Thursday.
Alberto Moleiro had given the hosts a shock lead in the fifth minute, but Vinicius would net from 12 yards to swing the encounter back in their favour, however, Carlo Ancelotti's star-studded line-up were unable to find a way through.
A frantic start to proceedings saw Moleiro produce a moment of magic to skip beyond Aurelien Tchouameni and Eder Militao before firing low into the far corner.
Madrid would register nine shots in the opening 45 minutes, three of which were on target, but they were unable to test Jasper Cillessen in the Las Palms net.
However, parity would be restored when defender Alex Suarez was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the area, with Vinicius stepping up to score from the spot.
Kylian Mbappe endured another difficult outing in front of goal, with only two of his nine shots on target as he still awaits his first LaLiga goal for his new side.
Ancelotti's side sit fourth in the early-season standings with five points from their first three games, four behind rivals and table toppers Barcelona.
Data Debrief: Vinicius on target as Mbappe's struggles continue
Vinicius has now scored all his four penalties for Real Madrid in all competitions, all of which have come in 2024.
The Brazilian looked Los Blancos' biggest threat in the forward areas, contributing an expected goals (xG) of 1.23 to Madrid's 2.81 total.
However, it was another night to forget for Mbappe. The Frenchman is the player in the top five European Leagues this season who has had the most shots this term (17) and who has the worst difference between xG (1.8) and goals scored (none).
Ricketts, Chung emphasize continued development for Andrew Peart-coached title-winning Under-14 team
As they continue to bask in the impressive run by the young Reggae Boyz at the just-concluded Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-14 Challenge Series, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts and General Secretary Dennis Chung are setting their sights on the future.
In fact, both underscored the importance of sustained development to ensure the team’s continued success as they progress toward higher levels of competition, including a possible FIFA Under-17 World Cup qualification.
The Andrew Peart-coached young Reggae Boyz clinched the CFU title with a 7-1 hammering of French Guiana in the final in what was an exceptional display of talent and cohesiveness throughout the tournament hosted in Trinidad and Tobago.
However, both Ricketts and Chung recognize that winning this title—the first for the country in a while—is just the beginning. The challenge now is to maintain the momentum, ensuring these players are nurtured and developed as they transition to the Under-17 level and beyond.
“Congratulations, coach Peart. You have shown the highest level of commitment to this program, and we want to assure you that the JFF will give you as much support as we can to ensure that there is some longevity, there is major productivity, and that the process will continue leading up to our Under-17 qualification for the World Cup,” Ricketts declared during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
Ricketts spoke passionately about plotting a strategic approach for player development and, by extension, the need to keep players active and together as they transition to the next level.
“When you participate in a competition with 23 teams and you come out scoring 25 goals and conceding two, it is indeed impressive. This is something that will put us in a situation where we will now have to put in place a contingency plan to ensure that all of our teams, from 14 up to 17, are, of course, in training so that we can all make that transition from 14 to 15, 15 to 16, and 16 to 17.
“That certainly will present a huge challenge, but just like how we were able to be successful in our journey just completed, I think we can achieve success at other levels,” Ricketts reasoned.
“What we really need is for private sector, the government, and, of course, our parent organizations to come on board because we want to certainly qualify for the Under-17 World Cup next year and we want to run up a sequence of qualifications. But we must have an organized plan in place to ensure that the U-14s make the transition, likewise, U-15 and U-16, so that every year we can participate in this global tournament,” he added as he alluded to the support provided by FIFA for the U-14 campaign through its Talent Development Scheme (TDS) program.
Chung also highlighted the importance of continuity, as he pointed out to the fact that Jamaica’s winning team was made up solely of local-based players.
“Nobody came from overseas, which shows that we have the talent here. If we put the infrastructure in place to hold everyone together, then we could be producing the world class footballers, just like athletics now locally is producing the world-class athletic stars. That's our intent to the program,” Chung stated.
He stressed that the focus should be targeted on ensuring these players continue to build together as a unit and strengthen their chances for future successes.
“Everything that you see here is based on strategic decisions that have been taken, the work that we've been doing to grow things incrementally and have cumulative benefits. We want to ensure that this Under-14 team is the one that goes on, after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, that will qualify also for the 2030 World Cup and continue that going forward. This success doesn't come just overnight; this is something that is coming from a seed that was planted just over a year ago,” Chung explained.
Meanwhile, Peart believes that with dedicated leadership and a clear roadmap, the future looks bright for the young Reggae Boyz, as their performances are not to be taken lightly.
“The quality of opposition we played against was really at a good level for Under-15s. When you look at Trinidad and Tobago or Puerto Rico, with an influx of diaspora players from the United States, and Aruba, who had players coming down from the Netherlands, the quality was really good,” Peart declared.
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