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Wolves logo
Premier League | Gameweek 5
Sep 18, 2021 at 12.30pm UK
Molineux
Brentford logo

Wolves
0 - 2
Brentford


Sa (27'), Saiss (38'), Neves (58'), Coady (90+6')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Toney (28' pen.), Mbeumo (34')
Henry (46'), Baptiste (59'), Jansson (74'), Onyeka (80')
Baptiste (64')

Preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Brentford - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brentford, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Premier League when they welcome Brentford to Molineux on Saturday afternoon.

Bruno Lage's side, who sit 13th in the table, recorded a 2-0 win over Watford in their last league encounter, while 10th-placed Brentford suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.


Match preview

Wolverhampton Wanderers' manager Bruno Lage after the match on September 11, 2021© Reuters

Wolves had suffered three straight 1-0 defeats to Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in their opening fixtures of the 2021-22 Premier League season, which meant that there was pressure on the team to deliver a positive result away to Watford last weekend.

As it transpired, two goals in the final 16 minutes of the contest, including one from new signing Hwang Hee-chan, saw Lage pick up his first points since being appointed head coach over the summer.

Wolves have therefore collected three points from their first four matches of the season to sit 13th in the table, and Lage will now view this game as the perfect chance to put another win on the board.

It is a busy end to the month for the former Championship winners, who will take on Tottenham in the EFL Cup on September 22 before travelling to Southampton in the league four days later, and it will be interesting to see where Lage's side sit entering October, as the squad is full of quality.

Wolves are unbeaten in their last four matches with Brentford, recording three wins in the process, although Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between the two teams since January 2018.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank on September 11, 2021© Reuters

Brentford, meanwhile, will enter this weekend's contest off the back of a 1-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, with Leandro Trossard scoring a last-minute winner for the Seagulls.

The loss to Graham Potter's side was a setback, but it has still been an encouraging start to the season for the promoted outfit, who opened their campaign with a 2-0 home success over Arsenal.

The Bees have also drawn with Crystal Palace and Aston Villa in their opening four matches, in addition to recording a 3-1 home success over Forest Green Rovers to progress in the EFL Cup.

Like Wolves, Brentford will be in EFL Cup action next week, taking on Oldham Athletic, but the Premier League will be regarded as the priority for Thomas Frank's side, and they have the small matter of a home league game against Liverpool to end the month of September.

The Bees have not beaten Wolves since a Championship fixture in February 2016, but a lot has changed at both clubs since then, and it is set to be a fascinating battle between the two teams at Molineux this weekend.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • W

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • W

Brentford Premier League form:
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • L

Brentford form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • L



Team News

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-Chan celebrates scoring their second goal on September 11, 2021© Reuters

Wolves will again be without the services of Jonny Castro, Pedro Neto and Hugo Bueno for this weekend's contest at Molineux, but Lage has no fresh injury concerns.

The majority of the side that started against Watford should retain their spots, but Hee-Chan's strong performance off the bench, which included a goal, against the Hornets could mean that the recent arrival replaces Francisco Trincao in the final third of the field.

Daniel Podence and Leander Dendoncker are among those pushing to make the first XI, but it is difficult to imagine too many alterations from the side that impressed last time out.

As for Brentford, Josh Dasilva and Mads Sorensen remain sidelined, but the Bees have no fresh injury concerns ahead of this weekend's contest.

Head coach Frank is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the home defeat to Brighton, with Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo set to continue in the final third of the field.

There might be a change in midfield, though, with Frank Onyeka potentially coming in for Shandon Baptiste, which was an alteration that happened during the second half of the clash against the Seagulls.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Kilman, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Marcal; Traore, Jimenez, Hee-Chan

Brentford possible starting lineup:
Raya; Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock; Canos, Onyeka, Norgaard, Janlet, Henry; Toney, Mbeumo


SM words green background

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Brentford

This has all of the makings of a very interesting match in the Premier League; Wolves will fancy their chances of putting another win on the board, but Brentford have impressed in the early stages of the campaign. We are expecting a close match on Saturday afternoon but are tipping the home side to record a narrow victory.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Brentford win with a probability of 38.33%. A win for Wolverhampton Wanderers had a probability of 32.33% and a draw had a probability of 29.3%.

The most likely scoreline for a Brentford win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.1%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.65%) and 0-2 (7.48%). The likeliest Wolverhampton Wanderers win was 1-0 (11.74%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.4%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 7.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Brentford would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Wolves vs Brentford

Wolverhampton Wanderers
69.6%
Draw
18.1%
Brentford
12.3%
349
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Tables header RHS
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7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


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