Brentford head to the Vitality Stadium unbeaten in the Premier League, while Bournemouth are still searching for their first league victory under Marco Rose.
Brentford face a Bournemouth side on Saturday who have spent the opening weeks of the season showing both how dangerous they can be and how quickly a game can turn against them.
Keith Andrews’ side have five points from their first three Premier League matches, an opening-day win over Tottenham followed by draws against Leeds United and Sunderland. The latter was the first time Brentford had failed to reach the levels of their opening two performances for a sustained period, although they improved after the break and led through Vitaly Janelt before Enzo Le Fée’s late penalty made it 1-1.
Bournemouth have experienced late disappointment on an even greater scale. They have taken the lead in all three league games this season without winning any of them, dropping seven points from winning positions already.
They did at least get Marco Rose’s first victory as head coach on Tuesday night, beating Lincoln City 4-0 in the Carabao Cup with Ryan Christie scoring a hat-trick.
Brentford Team News
Nathan Collins is the biggest concern for Brentford after the captain was forced off after just 17 minutes against Sunderland with a calf strain.
Andrews confirmed the nature of the injury after the game but was unable to say how long Collins would be unavailable for. Jannik Schuster replaced him and impressed on his Premier League debut alongside Kristoffer Ajer, leaving Andrews with an alternative should Collins fail to recover in time.
Mathias Jensen has missed the last two league matches with a minor issue. Andrews said before the Sunderland game that the midfielder could also miss the following week, although the injury was not considered serious.
Josh Dasilva, Sepp van den Berg and Antoni Milambo were also unavailable against Sunderland.
There are more options elsewhere. Aaron Hickey played the second half last weekend, Rico Henry was an unused substitute and deadline-day signing El Hadji Malick Diouf was named in a Brentford squad for the first time.
Bournemouth Form and Team News
Bournemouth’s two points do not tell the whole story of their start.
Marcus Tavernier put them ahead at Manchester City on the opening weekend, only for goals in the 84th and 91st minutes to turn the game into a 2-1 defeat. Alex Scott then gave the Cherries a half-time lead against Everton before James Tarkowski equalised in stoppage time.
The pattern continued at Newcastle. Tavernier scored after nine minutes, and a Malick Thiaw own goal made it 2-0, but Harvey Barnes quickly reduced the deficit before Jacob Ramsey rescued a 2-2 draw for Newcastle in the 88th minute.
Rose changed eight players for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Lincoln, keeping the majority of those who started at St James’ Park out of his XI. Christie took his opportunity with three goals and Rayan added a fourth in stoppage time.
Bournemouth went into the Newcastle fixture without Amine Adli, Eli Junior Kroupi, Veljko Milosavljevic and Julian Araujo, and all four remained absent for the cup win.
What to Expect
Andoni Iraola may have left Bournemouth during the summer, but the arrival of Rose has not resulted in the club abandoning the aggressive football which became familiar over the previous three seasons.
Rose’s sides have traditionally wanted to press high, attack quickly after winning possession and make central areas difficult for opponents to play through. There was plenty of that in Bournemouth’s opening spell at Newcastle, where they caused repeated problems and built a two-goal advantage inside 35 minutes.
Scott and Tyler Adams give them energy in midfield, while Tavernier has scored in two of their three league games. Rayan, Justin Kluivert and Evanilson offer different threats further forward and Rose also has Christie pushing for involvement after his performance in midweek.
For Brentford, getting through the first Bournemouth press could create opportunities further up the pitch. Kevin Schade, Dango Ouattara and Igor Thiago give Andrews a front line capable of attacking space quickly, while Mikkel Damsgaard has already been influential between midfield and attack this season.
The Bees were much better after half-time against Sunderland once Andrews made three changes, but another slow opening at the Vitality would be dangerous. Bournemouth have scored first against Manchester City, Everton and Newcastle already.
Holding a lead has been their problem.
There is also a good recent history in this fixture for Brentford. Bournemouth have yet to beat the Bees in the Premier League, with the most recent meeting ending goalless at the Vitality Stadium in March.
When Is Bournemouth vs Brentford?
Bournemouth host Brentford at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, September 12.
Kick-off is at 3pm BST.
How to Watch Bournemouth vs Brentford
The match has not been selected for live television coverage in the United Kingdom.
As a Saturday 3pm kick-off, it will therefore fall under the usual UK broadcast blackout.In the United States, the game will be available live on Peacock.
Prediction
Bournemouth’s league position looks worse than their performances have been. They have been ahead against three good opponents and were particularly effective for long periods at Newcastle, but conceding late goals has repeatedly cost them.
The Bees have not lost yet and have already shown they can find different ways through games. Collins’ fitness could make a considerable difference at the back, particularly against an aggressive Bournemouth attack, but Andrews’ side should also find chances of their own if they can play through the home side’s pressure.Another close game at the Vitality looks likely.
Prediction: Bournemouth 2-2 Brentford
