Newcastle vs. Brentford: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Despite Brentford beating Newcastle only a fortnight ago, there is a monumental disparity between Brentford on their own turf and the team they are on the road, where they've drawn one and lost six of their seven games this season.

Newcastle, on the other hand, have won three of their last five games on home soil and also claimed a point against league leaders Liverpool in that period, so they're a very tricky opponent when backed by their own fans.

Ultimately, Newcastle have won both of their last two head-to-head meetings with Brentford at St James' Park, and we think they'll make it three in three here. Newcastle 2-1 Brentford.

Newcastle United take on Brentford in the League Cup quarter-finals this weekend in what should be a very competitive encounter.

• Date: 18/12/2024
• Kick-off time: 19:45
• Location: St James' Park, Newcastle

The Magpies enter this game amidst a rollercoaster of a season that sees them sitting in 12th place with 23 points from 16 games. The bottom half of the Premier League is not where Newcastle expected they’d be at this point in the campaign, but they’ve suffered from acute levels of inconsistency that has really put a ceiling on their potential so far. Newcastle have undeniable top-level quality in their ranks, and when it all comes together they look unstoppable, but it’s very hard to predict which version of the team will show up from week to week.

Some fans are growing impatient with manager Eddie Howe - who is probably somewhat of a victim of his own success after prematurely taking the side to 4th in 2022-23 - and the Englishman is under serious pressure to deliver something significant this season, or he may find himself out of the club by the start of next season.

Should Newcastle win this competition, it could well buy Howe enough credit to keep his place regardless of this season’s league finish, but there’s no doubt that there is a serious amount of expectation this season that Howe is going to have to deliver on.

The Magpies have been boosted by the development of full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, both of whom are progressing excellently in their development and now look like the first-choice options on the defensive flanks. Equally, Alexander Isak is having a good campaign having bagged eight goals in all competitions, and his continued output will be essential to anything the team might achieve this season.

Newcastle are the favourites to win this game, and providing Eddie Howe fields a full-strength lineup, they’ll have a very good chance of progressing to the semi-finals, something that will be a hug morale boost to everyone involved with the club.

Like Newcastle, Brentford have claimed 23 points from 16 games in the league this season, a total that puts them 11th in the Premier League table. The Bees have had a very strong first few months of the season and look notably improved from last season, where they underperformed by their own standards.

Having scored 32 goals, the third most in the whole league, while conceding 30 times, the fourth most in the league, Thomas Frank’s side have arguably been the most entertaining team in the Premier League. Frank will see it differently, of course, as the Dane will no doubt be concerned about his side’s porousness in defence, something that’s uncharacteristic for them. Still, though, their attacking output has been excellent, and it’s been spearheaded by Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, who have 19 goals between them this season.

Another limiting factor of Brentford’s campaign has been their away form, which has been really poor, with Frank’s men picking up one draw and six defeats from seven games on the road. If they are to really kick on this season then improved away form will be imperative, but for this week’s game it does not bode well, and it’ll take a very big performance for the Bees to avoid defeat here.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on Sky Sports +.

Newcastle Team News:

The Magpies will be without Callum Wilson, Emil Krafth, Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles, while Nick Pope is also set to be on the sidelines for a couple of weeks.

Eddie Howe will very likely name a strong starting XI here, but he still might make a couple of changes, with Kieran Trippier and Harvey Barnes both in contention to come into the starting lineup.

Predicted lineup: Dúbravka; Trippier, Schär, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Bruno Guimarães, Joelinton; Barnes, Isak, Gordon.

Brentford Team News:

Rico Henry, Josh Dasilva and Aaron Hickey are still out for Brentford, while Mathias Jensen remains a doubt.

Thomas Frank is also expected to go strong here, but Ben Mee, Fábio Carvalho and Kevin Schade could be in line for call-ups to the starting XI.

Predicted lineup: Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Mee, Van den Berg; Yarmolyuk, Janelt; Mbeumo, Carvalho, Lewis-Potter; Schade.

Newcastle:

Newcastle's form has been short of where it should be in recent weeks, with Howe's men winning one, drawing two and losing two of their last five matches. At the weekend, the Magpies claimed a sorely needed win as they thumped Leicester City 4-0 in what was a dominant performance, with the goals coming from Josh Murphy (X2), Bruno Guimarães and Alexander Isak.

Before that, Newcastle fell to a 4-2 defeat away at Brentford, where goals from Isak and Harvey Barnes could not prevent a deserved defeat. That result came after a highly entertaining 3-3 draw with Liverpool, where Isak, Anthony Gordon and Fabian Schär scored the goals.

Those results were preceded by a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace and a disappointing 0-2 defeat to West Ham United.

Brentford:

The Bees' form is mixed, with Thomas Frank's side having won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five games. The weekend's result was a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where despite enjoying some good moments, they were deserved losers, with Bryan Mbeumo scoring a consolation goal late on.

Prior to that, Brentford claimed the aforementioned 4-2 win over Newcastle, with the goals coming from Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa, Nathan Collins and Kevin Schade, a result that followed a 3-1 loss away at Aston Villa.

Those results came after a 4-1 win over Leicester, with Kevin Schade bagging a hat-trick in addition to a Wissa goal, and a 0-0 draw away at Everton.

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