Two clubs ravaged by injury crises meet on Saturday when Brentford host Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The Bees have remarkably scored in the first 40 seconds of each of their last three games but have only one point to show for their fast starts, most recently drawing with West Ham United after losses to Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.
There have been few crumbs of comfort for Wolves of late. The Wanderers sit rock bottom of the table having conceded a league-high 16 goals so far.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Saturday’s clash between two bottom-half teams.
What time does Brentford vs Wolves kick-off?
Brentford vs Wolves H2H Results (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
How to watch Brentford vs Wolves on TV and live stream
Brentford team news
While both sides have their fair share of fitness complaints to moan about, it’s Brentford who boast the bigger injury list.
Manager Thomas Frank remains without Yoane Wissa, Rico Henry, Joshua Dasilva, Gustavo Gomes, Thiago and Jayden Meghoma, while there are further doubts over the availability of Aaron Hickey, Christian Norgaard and Mathias Jensen.
Thankfully for the Bees, star forward Bryan Mbeumo remains fit and firing, having bagged five league goals in six games so far.
Brentford predicted lineup vs Wolves
Brentford predicted lineup vs Wolves (4-4-2): Flekken; Van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock. Ajer; Schade, Damsgaard, Janelt, Lewis-Potter; Carvalho, Mbeumo.
Wolves team news
It’s been a wretched start to the season for Wolves and Gary O’Neil has not been aided in his attempts to get points on the board by the amount of injuries currently hampering his squad.
Defender Yerson Mosquera is out for the long-term with a knee injury, while Boubacar Traore, Bastien Meupiyou, Toti Gomes, Enso Gonzalez and Sasa Kalajdzic are also unavailable. There are further doubts over the fitness of centre-backs Craig Dawson and Santiago Bueno.
Attacker Hwang Hee-chan is knocking on the door for a third Premier League start. The South Korean struck 12 times in the division last season but has been restricted to cameo appearances in recent weeks.
Wolves predicted lineup vs Brentford (4-3-3): Johnstone; Semedo, T. Gomes, Dawson, Ait Nouri; Andre, J. Gomes, Lemina; Cunha, Larsen, Bellegarde.
Brentford vs Wolves score prediction
Given the set of injuries currently being endured by both squads, this is a tough game to call.
The player restrictions placed on Bees boss Frank haven’t stopped his side from starting games quickly but they have been unable to convert those promising positions in wins. Having been involved in the relegation scrap for most of last season before eventually pulling away, Brentford will want to more get points on the board to avoid any similar worries this time around.
They seem to have rediscovered the strong home form that evaded them last term which will definitely be handy against Wolves. The Midlands outfit put up a decent fight against Liverpool last Saturday but it looks like they are currently failing to deal with their injuries suitably while Brentford at least look threatening and coherent.
