Brentford welcome Crystal Palace to Brentford Community Stadium in a midtable Premier League encounter.
Victory would see Brentford leapfrog their visitors into 13th in the table, whereas a win could see Palace climb as high as 10th in the table.
Team News
Ivan Toney is a doubt for Brentford after he missed their defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday with a minor calf injury.
Vitaly Janelt is also considered a doubt with an abdominal injury.
Julien Jeanvier (knee), Christian Eriksen (fitness), Mathias Jorgensen and Tarique Fosu (both hamstring) remain absent.
Palace could welcome Cheikhou Kouyate back after he missed their midweek draw at Norwich due to fitness concerns, following his return from international duty at 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nathan Ferguson (thigh) is ruled out after suffering a setback in his recovery.
Stat Attack
- Brentford drew their only previous Premier League meeting against Crystal Palace 0-0 at Selhurst Park in August 2021.
- Palace are visiting the Brentford Community Stadium for the very first time but have won just one of their last 12 visits in all competitions (W1, D3, L8).
- Brentford have won each of their last two home matches against Palace by 2-1 results.
- Five of Brentford’s last six home goals have been scored after half-time.
- Only two of Palace’s nine goals in all competitions in 2022 have been scored before half-time, of which both goals came in their Fourth Round home win of 2021-22 FA Cup against Hartlepool.
Prediction
Brentford manager, Thomas Frank surely has to be bemused by his team’s collapse in league form with just 11 points from their last 17 league games, with defending their biggest issue which was evident in their loss at Man City on Wednesday as small mistakes proved costly.
Palace meanwhile were a scrappy defensive mess in the first half of their draw at Norwich yet were solid in attack with patience to carve out opportunities, which certainly paid off with a clinical equaliser so can afford to come here with more confidence than the Bees.
Brentford however have failed to score in just three home games in the league this season so this could well be another scrappy encounter for both teams, yet Palace do look the better in attack but their away form in this fixture shows how difficult this game will be.
A draw therefore is my safe bet given Brentford’s home form coupled with Palace’s leaky defence of recent weeks, although I would punt on Palace if there is a winner here.
Prediction: Brentford 1-1 Crystal Palace
Result: Brentford 0-0 Crystal Palace