Bournemouth vs. Brentford: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Brentford have been very strong away from home recently, winning four and drawing one of their last five games on the road. On top of that, they're unbeaten in their last five head-to-head meetings with the Cherries.

Bournemouth are the bookies' favourites to win this one, but the Bees look good value for a result. Bournemouth 2-2 Brentford.

Bournemouth are hoping to take a huge step towards Champions League football as they take on Brentford in the Premier League this weekend.

• Date: 15/03/2025
• Kick-off time: 17:30
• Location: Dean Court, Bournemouth

Bournemouth are currently 9th in the Premier League with 44 points from 28 games. The Cherries are having an excellent campaign and they come into this one with outside hopes of claiming Champions League football. Bournemouth are just three points shy of Manchester City in 5th, and with the Premier League looking likely to have five teams playing in Europe's top competition next season, they're most definitely in the running.

The issue for Bournemouth is that the chasing pack is huge, with at least seven teams in close contention for three places. Having dropped points in games they'll feel they should have won in recent weeks, Bournemouth now have much less room for error and need to be on top of their game.

The good news is that they're starting to welcome players back from injury after suffering from a high volume of absentees in recent weeks, so they'll hope they can maintain a strong level of fitness from now until the end of the campaign.

Striker Evanilson scored on his first league start back from injury last weekend, and he'll be hoping he can add to his seven goals in all competitions this season. Evanilson has been a solid contributor on the whole, but he'll need to add another chunk of goals in the final couple of months to justify his price tag.

A goal or two here would be well received, no doubt, as the Cherries head into a must-win game.

Brentford are currently 12th in the Premier League with 38 points from 28 games. The Bees have had a very good campaign this season and have their eyes set on a top ten finish.

Under Thomas Frank, Brentford have been exceptionally entertaining, but the feeling is that if they want to progress as a club next season, they might need to evolve their style. The Bees are excellent going forward, but they're slightly leaky at the back, with only six teams having conceded more goals than them this season (44).

They also need to keep hold of forward Bryan Mbeumo in the summer, who will no doubt be highly courted by Europe's elite. Mbeumo's 15 league goals this season is not to be scoffed at, and the Cameroonian is the sort of profile that most top teams are crying out for.

For now, though, the Bees will be fully focussed on trying to accumulate as many points as possible in the season's run-in. They face a very tough test here but it's far from an unwinnable game.

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

Bournemouth Team News:

The Cherries remain without striker Enes Unal, who won't play again this season, while Marco Senesi and Adam Smith are also on the sidelines.

However, Illya Zabarnyi is available once again after serving a suspension, so he'll most likely return to the starting XI.

Predicted lineup: Kepa; Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Adams, Christie; Tavernier, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson.

Brentford Team News:

The visitors will be unable to call upon the services of Michael Kayode, Fabio Carvalho, Igor Thiago, Sepp van den Berg and Josh Dasilva.

Mathias Jensen is vying for a recall to the starting lineup with a change or two likely in store for the Bees.

Predicted lineup: Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade; Wissa.

Bournemouth:

Bournemouth are amidst a mixed run of form, with two wins, one draw and two losses from their last five games. Last time out, Bournemouth drew 2-2 with Tottenham in a game they threw away after dominating, squandering a two-goal lead given to them by Tavernier and Evanilson.

Before that, Bournemouth beat Wolves on penalties in the FA Cup following a 1-1 draw where Evanilson scored the goal, which followed a 2-1 loss to Brighton, a 0-1 loss to Wolves and a 3-1 win at Southampton, courtesy of Outtara, Christie and Tavernier.

Brentford:

Brentford's form is identical to that of Bournemouth, with the Bees having won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five. Most recently, Brentford lost 0-1 to Aston Villa, a result that was preceded by a 1-1 draw with Everton, where Wissa scored the goal.

Prior to that, goals from Wissa, Mbeumo, Norgaard and Carvalho saw them beat Leicester City 4-0, which was preceded by a 1-0 win over West Ham, courtesy of Schade, and a 0-2 loss to Tottenham.

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