Following a 3-0 victory over Fulham last weekend, Brentford return to action against Crystal Palace at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
The two sides have shared the points on each of their last four Premier League meetings, with Vitaly Janelt heading home a last-minute equaliser during the most recent encounter in March.
Pre-match Analysis
Richard Cole, Playmaker Stats: Brentford and Crystal Palace – two teams with differing ideas of how to progress the ball
All four Premier League games between Brentford and Crystal Palace to date have ended in deadlock in a fixture that features two very different attacking styles.
Both top-flight meetings in the 2021/22 season finished goalless, but at least there were goals last year with both games ending 1-1.
A quartet of draws perhaps isn’t too surprising, given that Palace tend to top the Premier League stalemate stats.
No team in the division shared the spoils on more occasions (15) than the south Londoners in 2021/22, and the Eagles racked up another dozen league draws last season – though this time they finished two behind Brentford (Newcastle the only team other than the Bees to record 14 draws).
That’s where the similarities end, however, with both teams having differing ideas of how best to get the ball forward.
Generally speaking, Palace have relied far more on dribbling and taking on players to get into the final third.
In fact, the Eagles ranked eighth in the Premier League last season for carries into the penalty area (206) while in comparison Brentford (102) did this the least of any team.
This method has its advantages. A successful dribble can put a player in a fantastic position to pass or shoot - and it also draws fouls. Lots of them, in Palace's case!
Of the 12 most-fouled players in the top flight last season, four were from Palace: Jordan Ayew (first, 90 fouls drawn), the now departed Wilfried Zaha (fifth, 77), Michael Olise (eighth, 69), and Eberechi Eze (12th, 57).
After just two games this season Eze (seven drawn) and Ayew (six) are already two of the most hacked players in the top flight.
To put those numbers in context, only one Brentford player even featured in the top 40 most fouled players last season, with Ivan Toney really taking one for the team (sixth, 74 fouls drawn).
While Palace benefit in some respects, dribbling is risky and relying on it may explain why the Eagles ranked first in the league last season for miscontrols (643) and lost possession (they were dispossessed on 457 occasions).
Brentford’s pragmatic style accounted for far fewer miscontrols last year (only four teams ranked better) and the Bees were dispossessed far less as well.
The Bees are of course blessed with players, like Mathias Jensen, who let the ball do the work. Indeed, when it came to crosses into the box last year Brentford swung in the third-highest total, while Palace in comparison put in the second fewest.
Brentford's more direct approach poses a greater threat in terms of running off the ball - and it perhaps explains why the Bees were far more likely to be caught offside in the top flight last season: Thomas Frank's side flagged 72 times (the fifth-highest total) compared to Palace's 58 (the fifth-lowest).
Saturday's clash at Gtech Community Stadium seems fascinatingly poised... will it yield a winner this time?
The Opposition
Olise’s new contract a welcome boost as Palace begin life without Zaha
Crystal Palace got off to their usual solid, if unspectacular, start last season and were comfortably sat in mid-table by the time the World Cup got underway in November. But, after the break, they essentially ground to a halt.
The Eagles returned with one league win in 13 games, scoring just six goals along the way, and were on a hiding to nothing by the time Patrick Vieira was sacked in mid-March.
Roy Hodgson - who started his playing career at the club in the 1960s - was then brought back two years after the end of a four-year spell at the helm to lead the firefighting effort.
Hodgson - the Premier League’s oldest-ever manager, having turned 76 just over a fortnight ago - did such a sensational job that it was mutually agreed he would return on a permanent basis.
“Appointing Roy for another season will enable him and the squad to hit the ground running for a full pre-season and continue the magnificent momentum that has built up since his return,” said chair Steve Parish after the news was announced in July.
This season, for the first time in the best part of a decade, Palace didn’t have talisman Wilfried Zaha to lead them into the new campaign.
The 30-year-old sits third on the list of all-time appearance makers for the club, but his departure to Galatasaray on a free transfer, after a protracted will-he-won’t-he contract saga, has left a significant hole in the squad.
Brazil Under-20 starlet Matheus Franca - signed from Flamengo for a reported initial fee of €20 million - has been earmarked as his long-term replacement, though it is a big ask for the 19-year-old to fill such esteemed boots.
Arguably their biggest boost of the summer, however, came a matter of weeks ago. Free-spending Chelsea activated the £35m release clause in Michael Olise’s contract and it seemed as though the draw of making the move from south to west London would be one too difficult for the France U21 international to turn down.
But that proved not to be the case - instead, Olise signed a new four-year deal, which will keep him at Selhurst Park until the summer of 2027. Hodgson was, understandably, delighted by the unexpected development.
“It’s the best possible news we could have,” he said. “The decision has been his. I always hoped…Michael would realise that, at such a young age, his future here is very bright. We can help him move very quickly to another level.”
The Eagles made a winning start to the new campaign, with Odsonne Edouard’s second half strike earning them a 1-0 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on the opening day of 2023/24, before a narrow defeat to Arsenal on Monday night.
Perhaps this time around, with positivity flowing both on and off the pitch, they could make the kind of start that keeps hopes of a first top-half finish since 2014/15 flickering for several months to come.
In the Dugout
Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson is set to prolong his managerial career into a 48th year.
He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in 1976.
At international level, he guided Switzerland to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996.
From 2006 to 2007, he managed the Finland national team, guiding them to their highest-ever FIFA world ranking of 33rd.
He then managed the England national team from May 2012 to June 2016, which ended after the Three Lions were knocked out of Euro 2016 by Iceland in the round of 16.
At club level, he has managed Inter Milan, Blackburn Rovers, Malmo FF, Grasshoppers, FC Copenhagen, Udinese, Fulham, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion.
He has been a UEFA Cup and Europa League runner-up at Inter Milan and Fulham, respectively, as well as winning domestic trophies in Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark.
In May 2022, after a four-month spell at Watford that ended in relegation, Hodgson said he would not be seeking another Premier League job.
However, by March 2023, he had returned to Selhurst Park for a second spell, signing a one-year deal.
The Gameplan
With Edmund Brack, Crystal Palace reporter for South London Press
Crystal Palace reporter Edmund Brack explains how the Eagles are likely to set up on Saturday. Read the full interview with Edmund here.
“It will likely be 4-4-1-1 out of possession and 4-2-3-1 in possession.
“They brought in Jefferson Lerma over the summer; his defensive abilities look really good and it looks like he can break up the play really well. He will have Doucoure alongside him, whose short passing game is excellent.
“Olise might be back by then and, if he is, he will be on the wings, cutting it in for Eze in the centre.
“I do not think Franca will be back for this game, so it will be a similar team to the one they fielded towards the end of the last campaign.”
Team news
Brentford duo set for spell on the sidelines
Brentford midfielders Josh Dasilva and Shandon Baptiste are set for a spell on the sidelines.
“Shandon and Josh are unavailable, unfortunately both with longer-term injuries,” Frank told the media during his pre-match press conference.
“A hamstring injury will keep Josh out for a while, and Shandon dislocated his shoulder in training.”
Ben Mee is also unavailable for Palace’s visit to Gtech Community Stadium, but Frank revealed that the centre-half is close to a return.
“[Mee] is such an important player for us, he’s been so good for us, so we don’t want to rush it,” he said.
“He’s been training hard today, and he’ll most likely start on Tuesday against Newport.”
Match Officials
Bankes handed another Brentford assignment
Peter Bankes refereed 35 fixtures last season across the Championship, Carabao Cup, FA Cup, Premier League and Europa Conference League.
He showed 149 yellow cards and a single red card.
Bankes officiated five Brentford games, including the Bees’ historic 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Etihad Stadium in November 2022.
Last Meeting
Brentford 1 Crystal Palace 1 (Premier League, 18 March 2023)
Vitaly Janelt scored an equaliser deep into stoppage-time to extend Brentford’s unbeaten run in the Premier League to 11 matches.
With the six minutes’ added time all but up, Janelt rose highest at the back post to head home Bryan Mbeumo’s inviting cross and cancel out Ebere Eze’s second-half header.
It was a grandstand finish to a game that never really caught light on a grey afternoon at Gtech Community Stadium.