Brentford face Brighton and Hove Albion at Amex Stadium on Wednesday night (7.30pm kick-off).
Thomas Frank’s Bees are 11th in the Premier League following a 3-1 victory over Luton Town last time out, while Brighton are three points and three places better off.
The two sides produced a thrilling game when they last met in April; Pontus Jansson, Ivan Toney and Ethan Pinnock on target for Brentford in a 3-3 draw on the south coast.
Pre-match Analysis
Alex Lawes, Playmaker Stats: Clash of styles could lead to another entertaining encounter
Often lazily dubbed ‘the moneyball feud’, there is reportedly a genuine rivalry between the respective owners of Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion, Matthew Benham and Tony Bloom.
When discussing their use of data, recruitment models and culture, it would be foolish not to mention the similarities between the off-field operations of each club, and these comparisons in many ways make their differing approaches on the pitch even more interesting.
Stylistically, it would be argued that Brighton, under the management of Roberto De Zerbi, have become ideologues in the way they want to play. The Seagulls have coordinated sequences of play, regardless of opposition, with the overall identity being to play an easy on the eye ‘brand’ that maximises the abundance of creative and technical talent within their squad.
Brentford, on the other hand, have been very adaptable since their promotion to the top flight. This season has seen a more possession-based approach from the Bees, who enjoyed 71 per cent of the ball against Luton last weekend, but the west Londoners are extremely effective at mixing up their game and are generally more direct than the Seagulls.
Brighton, for example, average 61.6 per cent of the ball in Premier League matches this season with only Manchester City (61.8 per cent) enjoying more of the ball. In contrast, Brentford currently average 48 per cent.
The main idea underpinning Brighton’s attacking play is to build up play with short, quick passes with a view to creating quality shooting opportunities – despite the occasional screamer from Julio Enciso before his injury or Evan Ferguson this season, a shot is rarely wasted by De Zerbi’s men. In fact, they are eighth in the table for shots per game (14.4), yet rank second for shots on target per game (6.1).
In that regard, Brentford are almost the opposite, as they rank fourth for shots per game in the division (15.1), but 11th for shots on target (4.6). The Bees’ attacking gameplan is also, as mentioned, about maximising their own strengths and getting into the best position possible for a close-range effort – but going about it in a different manner.
For example, Brentford have managed the most shots per game from within the six-yard box (2.3). That, most commonly, stems from set-pieces where the Bees aim to make their aerial prowess count (with 17.7 offensive aerial duels won per game they rank fourth in the league for this stat category).
The best statistical contrast to illustrate the differing styles of football, albeit with similar targets and general plans in mind, would be that Brentford are fourth in the league for accurate long balls, with Brighton 11th, while Brighton are second in the league for most accurate short passes, with Brentford 13th.
The clash of playing styles produced a thrilling 3-3 draw at Amex Stadium in April and another entertaining encounter could well be in store.
Scout Report
Seagulls flying high despite demanding fixture list
Brighton have been on a journey of gradual improvement ever since they were promoted to the Premier League in 2017.
None of the first four seasons saw them finish above 15th, but they reached double figures for wins and passed the 50-point mark for the first time on their way to a ninth-place finish in 2021/22. That was a milestone campaign for the Seagulls; one perhaps few would have backed them to better for some time to come.
But last term, they did just that – and in emphatic style, too.
At the start of the season, head coach Graham Potter was still in charge and, under him, Brighton won four of their first six Premier League games to climb into the embryonic top four.
After a 5-2 win over Leicester on 4 September 2022, it was almost a month before they played again and, when they did, they had made an enforced managerial change.
Potter opted to jump ship and join Chelsea as a replacement for Thomas Tuchel four days after the Leicester game and Brighton’s campaign could have unravelled there and then.
Yet Roberto De Zerbi arrived as his replacement on 18 September – two months after leaving Shakhtar Donetsk – and, after getting his bearings with a five-game winless streak in the league, went on to mastermind arguably the best season in the club’s 122-year history.
The Seagulls posted their highest-ever finish, ending the season in sixth-place with the fourth-best away record in the division, qualified for Europe for the first time ever and set top-flight bests for most wins (18), fewest draws (8), most goals scored (72) and most points (62).
It would be remiss not to mention the feat of reaching the FA Cup semi-final for the second time in five seasons, where they were beaten on penalties by eventual runners-up Manchester United.
The success of 2022/23 did not stop them from selling their prized assets, though. Robert Sánchez and Moisés Caicedo joined Chelsea for an initial combined fee of £125 million, while Alexis Mac Allister went to Liverpool for £35m. As organised as ever, Brighton strengthened proactively – and did so by utilising only a fraction of the incoming funds.
Despite the added demands placed upon them by playing in an extra competition this year – and the injuries that have been stacking up in recent weeks - De Zerbi’s men have fared well on the whole. Five wins from the first six means taking seven points from the last eight games is not quite as worrying as it might have otherwise been.
But it is in the Europa League where they have looked at their best of late. They took one point from their first two group games against AEK Athens and Marseille, but since then have beaten Ajax 2-0 home and away, as well as winning 1-0 in the return fixture in Athens last week. It has a real air of West Ham in the Europa Conference League last season. Needless to say, progress to the knockout stage is already in the bag.
There is no doubt improvements must be made in the league to keep up the continuous improvement and high standards that have been set, but as important players gradually return, you would expect that to be the case.
Over the years, Brighton have been faced with much less enticing prospects than the ones that lie ahead this term and they are enjoying each historic moment as it comes.
In the Dugout
Roberto De Zerbi
Roberto De Zerbi started out at AC Milan in 1998 and forged a nomadic career as an attacking midfielder in the lower reaches of the Italian football pyramid.
De Zerbi turned out for Foggia, Arezzo and Catania, before two years in Romania with CFR Cluj between 2010 and 2012. He retired in 2013 aged 34 after a short spell back in his homeland with Trento.
Almost immediately, he picked up his first job in management with Darfo Baario, with whom he spent a year before returning to Foggia in 2014.
He spent another two years at Stadio Pino Zaccheria, guiding the Rossoneri to the Coppa Italia Legia Pro in 2015/16 during his second season in charge.
Shortly after departing in August 2016, he was fast-tracked to Serie A when Palermo came calling. However, that stint will not be remembered fondly by either party, as he lasted just 13 games, only one of which his side were victorious in.
De Zerbi then moved on to Benevento and was unable to keep the club in the top flight in 2017/18.
It was at Sassuolo that De Zerbi really settled. He spent just shy of three years in charge of the Watermelon Peel (yes, really) and oversaw top-eight finishes in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.
In May 2021, he was announced as the new Shakhtar Donetsk manager, but after 10 months, one Ukrainian Super Cup and 20 wins from his 30 games in charge, he departed as a result of the Russian invasion and, two months after that, was installed as Graham Potter’s successor at Brighton.
Team News
Jensen 'touch and go' for Brighton clash
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has revealed that Mathias Jensen is "touch and go" for the Bees' trip to Brighton and Hove Albion.
The midfielder has missed the last two games with an adductor injury, which has left the Bees light in midfield, but there's a chance the Dane could return on Wednesday.
In other team news, Kristoffer Ajer is out but Mikkel Damsgaard is available for selection for the first time since August.
“Kristoffer Ajer will unfortunately be out, probably for some weeks with a foot issue," Frank confirmed.
“Jensen will be touch and go, we are hoping he will be available for the game. Mikkel Damsgaard can be selected for the squad, so that’s a positive.”
The Gameplan
With The Argus' Brian Owen
Brian Owen, Brighton and Hove Albion correspondent for The Argus, explains how Roberto De Zerbi is likely to set up his side on Wednesday night:
“It will be a 4-2-3-1, with two wingers, which, if fit, will be Kaoru Mitoma and [Simon] Adingra.
“Then, hopefully, [João] Pedro, Evan Ferguson or Adam Lallana in attack, so a unit of four really attacking players.
“The big thing for Brighton is that they have not got Lewis Dunk.
“It will be a normal formation, with some improvisation in one of the full-back positions.”
Read the full interview with Brian Owen here
Match Officials
Bankes handed second Brentford assignment of the season
Referee Peter Bankes kept his cards in his pocket during Brentford’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on 26 August, which was his last Bees assignment.
Bankes has officiated nine games this season – eight in the Premier League and one in the Championship – and shown 50 yellow cards and one red.
Bankes refereed 35 games last term, including Brentford’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in February.
Last Meeting
Brighton and Hove Albion 3 Brentford 3 (Premier League, 1 April 2023)
Pontus Jansson scored on his first start in six months as Brentford were denied all three points against Brighton and Hove Albion by Alexis Mac Allister’s last-minute penalty.
The clash between two sides chasing a place in Europe didn’t disappoint, with Thomas Frank’s Bees taking the lead three times only to be pegged back on each occasion.
Jansson nodded home after 10 minutes; a goal which was cancelled out 11 minutes later by Kaoru Mitoma’s neat lob.
That kicked off a spell of three goals in seven minutes which saw Ivan Toney restore the Bees’ advantage before Danny Welbeck’s close-range leveller.
Ethan Pinnock put Brentford back ahead at the start of the second half; a lead which lasted until Mac Allister’s spot-kick in the final minute of normal time.