Newcastle versus Brentford is the 5:30PM kick off this weekend and it looks set to be a tie full of fight, attacking flair and intensity. The Magpies have beat Brentford on the last three occasions but the two most recent games at St James’ Park have been full of goals, with both fixtures witnessing six goals.
Newcastle
Newcastle’s extremely tough start to the season continues this weekend against Thomas Frank’s Brentford. So far, Eddie Howe has had to face Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Brighton, they have been thrown right in the deep end. The emphatic win 5-1 win against Villa sent a statement to the rest of the league, but since then, they have understandably struggled. However the 2-1 defeat to ten men Liverpool will have angered Eddie Howe and he is yet to see his side bounce back.
Last time out, the Magpies travelled to Brighton where they were up against one of the best footballing teams in the Premier League. It is safe to say that they were dominated and 18-year-old Evan Ferguson tore them apart, scoring a hattrick. Callum Wilson scored a late consolation goal, but that was almost the only positive Howe could take from the match.
Newcastle will be desperate to end their losing streak and pick up three points on Saturday, especially with their UEFA Champions League tie against Milan around the corner. Howe could rotate his side with that huge game in mind, but I predict he will want his side to get out of this rut.
Brentford
Thomas Frank has done a remarkable job at Brentford and their performances without their star man, Ivan Toney, is a testament to just how good of a coach the Dane is. The Bees are unbeaten so far this season, winning once and drawing three but I sense that frank will be disappointed that his side have only picked up three points on the one occasion, especially as their performances warrant the victory.
Brentford’s last match was a 2-2 home draw versus Bournemouth. After taking the lead in the seventh minute, it seemed like Brentford were going to push on and collect three points. However, they were caught out in transition on multiple occasions and by the 77th minute they found themselves 2-1 down, despite dominating everything but the scoreline. Bryan Mbeumo has been unbelievable this season and equalised in the 93rd minute.
Brentford’s squad is full of talented players such as Mathias Jensen, Rico Henry, Christian Norgaard and Nathan Collins, but the player who has stepped up the most has been Yoan Wissa. The centre forward has shown multiple qualities that are reminiscent of Toney’s game such as playing with his back to goal, winning duels and having top class link up play. His partnership with Mbuemo is frightening and they will cause issues for Newcastle.
Verdict?
Newcastle and Brentford will play this game at 100% intensity from the first minute to the last which means as the game progresses, the match should become quite open. Both sides thrive in these transition scenarios so we should see plenty of goals.
The final prediction is Newcastle 2-1 Brentford.
