Brentford will be looking to allay any relegation fears when Brighton rolls into town on Wednesday evening for a Premier League encounter.
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A dramatic 1-1 draw with Manchester United over the long Easter weekend will have given them a much-needed boost, but they are just five points above the drop zone in 15th spot.
Moreover, there were no fresh injury concerns that came out of the game. Sergio Reguilon is set to come back after serving a suspension, while Bryan Mbeumo, according to Thomas Frank, is in the frame to start having made substitute appearances against United and Burnley either side of the international break.
In the opposite dugout, speculation has mounted over Roberto de Zerbi’s long-term future at Brighton although talks are believed to be ongoing.
The Seagulls, who went down 2-1 away to Liverpool last weekend, still harbour an outside chance of grabbing a European spot as they are ninth in the table, but a third top-10 finish is very much attainable.
But what can we expect at the Gtech Community Stadium? I have pored over the betting markets and plucked out a couple of tips for your consideration.
Brighton to be stung by Bees
While the games are racking up for Brentford with two in the space of four days, they have a decent run of fixtures whereby they will be targeting a solid haul of points.
Although Brentford are without a win in any of their past seven league games, they will have taken encouragement from their draw with United whereby they peppered the visitor’s goal with 31 attempts and had 85 touches in the opposition box.
Perhaps the footballing gods conspired against them on that occasion, but Brentford can be a match for anyone when on song.
Brighton, on the other hand, may have been disappointed not to have clung on for a win at Anfield, but they still have plenty to play, and 21 points from their remaining nine games will see them surpass their record top-flight points total.
Brentford picked up four points in their two clashes with Brighton last term, and at home, they enjoyed a 2-0 victory.
Although Brentford had less than 28% possession that day and were restricted to seven shots, they lured Brighton in by sitting deep before breaking the lines with tremendous effect.
A cursory glance at past clashes shows that there hasn’t been a shortage of goals, but Brentford will be eyeing a repeat of last season’s showing.
For my opening gambit, I’m backing Brentford to win & BTTS, which has an inviting price of 13/5 tagged onto it at Paddy Power.
Bryan Mbeumo at the double
The likely return to the first team fold for Mbeumo will be a welcome sight for the Bees.
Indeed, the Cameroon international was in stellar form during the first half of the Premier League campaign weighing in with 10 goal contributions (seven goals and three assists), and he has been slowly working his way back to action over the past couple of weeks.
Mbeumo could end up being a thorn in the Brighton side, and he opened the scoring when the two sides previously met on the South Coast in December.
I fancy Mbeumo to play a starring role in Brentford’s victory and pop up with a double. Should you wish to pursue that outcome, bet365 has obliged with eye-catching odds of 9/1.
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