Brentford kick off 2025 with a London derby against Arsenal at Gtech Community Stadium.
Victory will lift Brentford up to 10th in the table, whilst Arsenal can go second with a win or draw.
Team News
Ben Mee is ruled out for Brentford after he suffered a muscle injury in their goalless draw at Brighton.
Sepp van den Berg (groin) and Matias Jensen (hamstring) could return but Mark Flekken (groin) is a doubt.
Josh Dasilva, Rico Henry (both knee), Gustavo Nunes (back), Igor Thiago (joint), Kristoffer Ajer (ankle), Ethan Pinnock and Aaron Hickey (both hamstring) remain sidelined.
Arsenal have no fresh injury concerns to report following their 1-0 win over Ipswich.
Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Raheem Sterling, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White (all knee) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Brentford host Arsenal at the Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday 1 January at 17:30pm GMT, live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Brentford have won one of six previous Premier League meetings against Arsenal (W1, D1, L4).
- Arsenal have won two of three Premier League visits to Brentford (W2, L1).
- Arsenal’s Kai Havertz scored in both league meetings against Brentford last season (W2).
- Thomas Frank’s Bees are looking to avoid going two consecutive league games at home without scoring for first time since February 2022.
- Arsenal have failed to keep clean sheets in four of five away London derbies this season (W3, D2), only doing so in a 1-0 win at Tottenham in September 2024.
Prediction
Following a gutsy but entertaining draw at Brighton in a strong response to their home defeat to Forest, Brentford will again need to be at their best but more clinical if want anything out of this game.
Arsenal though know that this is a great opportunity to put pressure on Liverpool and start 2025 on the front foot, especially after a controlled win over Ipswich despite a largely wasteful end product.
If Mikel Arteta’s Gunners show more polished finishing then they should win this but quietening Brentford at home is no easy task, especially given the Bees’ home goalscoring record.
On that note, I do see both teams getting a point apiece unless Arsenal score first and can sit resiliently in terms of defending.
Prediction: Brentford 1-1 Arsenal
Result: Brentford 1-3 Arsenal