Brentford v Arsenal – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Brentford host Arsenal at the Gtech Community Stadium in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. The Bees have lost successive matches and are suffering some injury woes in defence. The Gunners have had a good start to the season but may not see this competition as being a high priority. Arsenal won 3-0 on their last trip to Brentford but that was with a full-strength XI.

Brentford Form

Thomas Frank’s side ended last season in great form, winning their final three league matches. This term began with a four-match unbeaten run in the league. They won 3-0 at Fulham and their other three fixtures saw them score first at home but end up with one point in each match: 2-2 vs Tottenham, 1-1 at home vs Crystal Palace and 2-2 vs Bournemouth.

Their last two matches have ended in losses. A debatable penalty saw a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle in a tight affair. On Sunday, they lost 3-1 at home to struggling Everton in a deserved defeat. They allowed the usually toothless Toffees to have 18 shots and put up 1.90 xG.

Brentford Team News

Ivan Toney remains suspended for the Bees. Winger Kevin Schade needs a scan on a hip injury and that further limits their attacking options. To make matters worse, Neil Maupay is cup-tied after his loan from Everton.

Josh Dasilva is injured in midfield and Rico Henry has had knee surgery and won’t play for several months. Shandon Baptiste is also set to be ruled out and Mikkel Damsgaard is a major doubt. Thomas Frank could play quite a strong XI. Mathias Jorgensen or Kristoffer Ajer could come into the side to make a back-five.

Brentford Motivation

Brentford go with a 3-5-2 shape in the tougher matches and the same will apply here. They will look to be compact and use their speed on the break.

We will get a clear indication of how seriously Thomas Frank is taking this competition when we see if the likes of Mbuemo and Wissa are named in the XI.

Arsenal Form

Arsenal have won five and drawn two of their seven matches this season in all competitions. In the league, they’ve dropped points at home to both Fulham and Tottenham in 2-2 draws when they held leads. Their wins have been 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest and then 1-0 at Crystal Palace (with ten men) in rounds one and two.

Two very late goals sealed a 3-1 home win over Man Utd with 2.27 xG produced. A steady 1-0 win at Everton followed with 74% possession before making light work of PSV in the Champions League in a 4-0 victory. Against Spurs, they led 1-0 and 2-1 and put up 2.03 xG but they couldn’t hold onto their leads in a 2-2 final result.

Arsenal Team News

Mikel Arteta will have this tournament as the lowest priority for sure. Thomas Partey is injured and Declan Rice has a knock so Jorginho could get a rare start here. Mohamed Elneny is fit again and could also feature. Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Jurrien Timber are all ruled out with injuries.

We could see Aaron Ramsdale, Jakub Kiwior, and Takehiro Tomiyasu play from the start. Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson will get starts and Kai Havertz could play as the number nine.

Arsenal Motivation

Arsenal will attack and try to win but this competition is not the top priority. Arteta needs his side to churn out league wins and progress in Europe the Carabao Cup could drain resources.

Motivation may not be as high as usual. The fringe players will want to impress and to win but the manager may not be overly fussed if his side were to exit the competition.

Key Stats

Brentford are winless in 4 home matches (DDDL)

Brentford have lost their last 2 Premier League matches (7 unbeaten before that)

Brentford have seen Both Teams Scoring in 10 of their last 12 home EPL matches

Arsenal have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 4 away EPL matches

Arsenal have scored just 4 goals in their last 4 away league matches

Verdict

The Bees were doing very well at home but they’ve taken a recent dip due to injuries. Arsenal have been doing well on their travels in the league but we could see nine or ten changes to the XI from the Spurs fixture. Both sides should score and Brentford have a great chance to progress.