Overview
Brentford are turning the final minutes of the match into a "specialty" this season. They have scored 11 goals in the Premier League after the 75th minute, and that trend continued to be affirmed in the last match before Christmas, when the "Bees" won an important 2-0 victory against Wolves.
In the role of winger, Keane Lewis-Potter played explosively at the right time with his first double in the league this season, thereby helping Keith Andrews' team end a 4-match winning streak in all competitions. The victory was even more complete thanks to Caoimhin Kelleher, who saved the penalty at the end of the match, denied Jorgen Strand Larsen's opportunity, and brought home Brentford's first clean sheet after 9 Premier League matches.
From here, Brentford's problem is to maintain excitement. They aim for the second time in the season to win 2 consecutive victories in the league, with the biggest support coming from home form. 17/23 points of Brentford in the Premier League this season are accumulated at Gtech Community, where only Manchester City is the only team to leave with a full 3 points.
Head-to-head history also leans towards the home team. Brentford is unbeaten in the last eight encounters with Bournemouth, including 6 wins. They also won against Cherries 2-0 at the Carabao Cup earlier this season. Notably, Brentford has never lost to Bournemouth in the Premier League (4 wins, 2 draws).
On the other side, Bournemouth - a team famous for late goals last season - recreated that instinct in the crazy 4-4 draw against Manchester United earlier this month. However, besides that explosive moment, the recent series of results is less convincing.
Despite being the team that scored the most goals in the first 15 minutes of away matches this season, Andoni Iraola's team is currently going through a streak of 8 unbeaten matches and traveling to west London under pressure to regain form. In the past round, they lost the victory when conceding a late goal in the 1-1 draw with Burnley - the fourth time Bournemouth has lost points after opening the score.
Away from home, Cherries' confidence is very fragile. Bournemouth only has one victory in eight away games in the Premier League this season. The defense is also a big problem as only Burnley (24) conceded more goals away from home than Bournemouth (23). These numbers show that Iraola still has a lot of work to do if they want to avoid another disappointing afternoon.
Personnel situation
Brentford entered the match with significant personnel shortages. They will not have the services of Dango Ouattara - former Bournemouth player currently participating in the African Cup with Burkina Faso - as well as Frank Onyeka, who is on duty with the Nigerian national team.
Regarding the injury group, Fabio Carvalho has to be out for the rest of the season after knee surgery, while Josh Dasilva and Antoni Milambo are still in the recovery phase. In the opposite direction, Reiss Nelson is approaching a state of full strength and may be considered for use.
In attack, Igor Thiago is expected to take on the spearhead role. This striker has scored 11 goals in the tournament in a booming season, although he is currently experiencing a 4-match absence streak.
Bournemouth also cannot avoid the force problem, as some key players are absent due to injury. Veljko Milosavljevic and Tyler Adams both have to rest due to knee injuries. Ben Doak has not been able to play since the national team gathering in November due to hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Ryan Christie may be given more time to play after his positive performance against Burnley.
Expected lineup:
Kelleher, Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Henry, Jensen, Janelt, Yarmolyuk, Schade, Thiago, Lewis-Potter.
Petrovic, Jimenez, Diakite, Senesi, Truffert, Tavernier, Cook, Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo, Evanilson.
The match between Brentford and Bournemouth takes place at 10:00 PM on December 27th (Vietnam time).
