Back together after the international break, Brentford’s squad head north this weekend to take on Newcastle United.
Thomas Frank’s side are unbeaten this season – Bryan Mbeumo’s stoppage-time goal earning the Bees a point against Bournemouth last time out – while Newcastle have taken three points from a possible 12.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 5.30pm and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Pre-Match Analysis
Stephen Gillett, Playmaker Stats: Expect an action-packed clash
The officials could be busy at St James' Park this Saturday if this season's stats are anything to go by.
The Magpies and the Bees currently top the charts for most fouls suffered in the Premier League this term - with both teams awarded 13.3 free-kicks a game on average during the opening four gameweeks of the 2023/24 campaign.
For the Geordies, Bruno Guimaraes (13 free-kicks won) and Anthony Gordon (11) have been most targeted, but Aaron Hickey (9) and Yoane Wissa (9) have also received their fair share of illegal treatment for the Londoners.
Both sides have been kicked a fair bit, but Newcastle's early season stats show that Eddie Howe's men have been more than willing to dish it out too: the Magpies picking up more cautions (14) and committing more fouls (56) than any other team in the top flight.
Including penalties, no team scored more Premier League goals than Brentford (23) from dead-balls last season, so the prospect of a steady stream of free-kicks will no doubt be of interest to the Bees - who, incidentally, are the only team to score from a direct free-kick in the division this term courtesy of Mathias Jensen's strike against Bournemouth.
In this context, it is worth noting that Brentford (14) have recorded the second-most dead-ball passes that lead to a shot in the top flight this season, with only Liverpool (15) fashioning more from such situations.
That said, Brentford's record against Newcastle since promotion from the Championship makes for grim reading: the Bees losing three and drawing one of their four encounters against the Magpies.
They may be contending with the absence of former Newcastle forward Ivan Toney, but Thomas Frank's side have started this season looking lively in attack with Bryan Mbeumo (4 goals), Yoane Wissa (2) and Kevin Schade (1) all on target already - and Brentford enter gameweek five with the highest xG of any team in the Premier League.
Newcastle, meanwhile, arrive on the back of a sticky run of form that has seen them lose their last three games, although the standard of their opposition no doubt needs to be taken into account.
Those three straight losses have come at the hands of champions Man City, Liverpool and Brighton, and though the Magpies have lost the early momentum gained from a 5-1 victory over Aston Villa, they have still amassed some promising stats.
Only free-flowing Brighton, for example, have a better shots-on-target percentage than Brentford's hosts this Saturday - Newcastle peppering the goal with 41 per cent of their shots thus far.
Further, no team has amassed more take-ons that have led to a goal this season than the Magpies (3), which suggests the Bees should be wary of one-v-one situations near their own goal.
All told, the scene is set for an action-packed evening on Saturday!
Scout Report
Howe hoping for post-international break improvement
Newcastle finished as one of the Premier League’s top four last season as their rise under their Saudi owners reached new heights.
The work Eddie Howe had put in after replacing Steve Bruce in November 2021 continued to snowball, securing the club’s highest finish in two decades and ensuring they would take part in the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2002/03 campaign.
It rarely looked out of the question, in truth. The Magpies did only win one of their opening seven league matches but, from 3 September to 11 February, they went unbeaten, collecting 35 points of the 51 on offer.
During that time, they also earned a spot in the Carabao Cup final - their first final in 24 years - though their 54-year wait for a trophy was prolonged by a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Wembley.
Newcastle’s league form throughout the bulk of the season meant ending it in a similar manner to the way they started it - with only one win from five games - did not matter a great deal. They finished four points behind third-placed United and four ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool. There was never likely to be any real disruption to the two-horse title race between Manchester City and Arsenal.
Speaking after the final-day 1-1 draw at Chelsea, boss Eddie Howe said: “I don’t want to criticise the players for what they’ve given me this season – the message is thank you, but next season is going to be even harder.”
This summer, despite the added rigours European competition will place on them, Newcastle only signed four first-team players: Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall, while recouping the best part of £40m with the sales of Karl Darlow, Chris Wood and Allan Saint-Maximin.
They are still not splashing endless cash and the £130m outlay this summer represented only the seventh-highest in the division. As Newcastle reporter Chris Waugh tells us, there is a real desire to make this a project, not simply a search for instant success.
Howe’s end-of-season warning has come true in the opening month of the season, though. Granted, the fixture list could definitely have been kinder to him and his side, but after that rampant 5-1 victory over Aston Villa on the first weekend, they have fallen to three straight defeats to Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton.
"It's never lost on me how difficult the Premier League is - it's ruthless,” Howe said after the Brighton loss.
“If you sway your focus, you have big problems. Our focus hasn't been swayed, we’re determined to be successful in the league. But we know the demands placed upon us will be extreme - this is a warning that we can't be swayed in such a tough league."
AC Milan (Champions League), Sheffield United (Premier League) and Manchester City (Carabao Cup) lie in wait over the nine days that follow the visit of Brentford to St James’ Park. Even at this early stage of the season, Newcastle have reached a defining period. They will just be hoping to be raring to go once this international break is done and dusted.
In the Dugout
Eddie Howe
Before turning his hand to management for the first time, Eddie Howe had a 13-year playing career as a defender, with all bar two of his 312 senior appearances having been made in a Bournemouth shirt.
He was, however, forced to retire prematurely at the age of just 29 at the end of the 2006/07 season.
By this time, he was already managing the Cherries’ reserve team, which he continued to do until September 2008, when manager Kevin Bond was sacked, concluding his time at the club, too. Before long, he had been appointed as a youth coach at the club and in January 2009, he was appointed first-team manager after a short spell as caretaker following Jimmy Quinn’s sacking.
The odds were stacked against Howe; Bournemouth were second bottom of League Two on New Year’s Day – having been handed a 17-point deduction at the start of the year. Yet, he managed to guide his team to 12 wins from the final 21 games, which saw them miraculously survive by nine points.
Howe’s side were promoted to League One the following year, but in January 2011, he left the south coast for Burnley, where he stayed until October 2012 when he returned to Bournemouth to take over from Paul Groves. He, essentially, picked up where he left off, securing promotion to the Championship in April 2013 and to the Premier League for the first time two years later.
Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League, after five consecutive seasons, in 2020, leading to Howe’s departure from the Vitality Stadium by mutual consent.
After a 15-month break, he took over from Steve Bruce at Newcastle in November 2021, with the 3-3 draw against Brentford his first official game in charge, though he had to watch the game from a hotel room after contracting Covid-19. He kept the Magpies in the league in his first year and has since gone from strength to strength.
The Gameplan
With Chris Waugh, Newcastle United correspondent for The Athletic
The Athletic’s Chris Waugh explains how Newcastle are likely to set up at St James’ Park:
“Howe very much prefers a 4-3-3 formation. The signings over the summer were meant to bring flexibility, but that remains his preference.
“Alexander Isak will play through the middle. Howe started the season with Anthony Gordon on the left and Miguel Almirón on the right; he may continue with those two, but Harvey Barnes may come in for his first start, with Gordon moving to the other side.
“In midfield, Bruno Guimarães, Tonali and Joelinton have been his first choices in a midfield three. They have not quite clicked yet, but I would be surprised if he did not try and continue with that trio.
“Kieran Trippier will be right-back, Fabian Schar right-sided centre-back, Sven Botman – if he is fit – will be left-sided centre-back, with Dan Burn at left-back and Nick Pope in goal.”
Read the full interview with Chris Waugh here.
TEAM NEWS
Maupay and Damsgaard could feature
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has confirmed that both Neal Maupay and Mikkel Damsgaard could feature for the Bees against Newcastle United on Saturday.
Maupay is yet to play a competitive game since re-signing for the club from Everton on Deadline Day, while Damsgaard pulled out of the Denmark squad over the international break with an abductor injury.
Frank stated that everyone who featured in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth is available, while Josh Dasilva and Shandon Baptiste remain long-term absentees.
When asked what the chances of Maupay playing at St James' Park this weekend were, the Bees boss responded: “I think pretty good, I'm pretty sure I will involve him in the squad.
“He played games for Everton, he was fit, and he played in a behind-closed-doors game for us and scored, so he’s in a good place. He’s training well.”
He added: “Damsgaard looks better and we will assess him tomorrow to see how he is and to see if he can play.
“There’s a slim chance [he will be involved], we will see how he is tomorrow.”
Match Officials
Pawson handed St James’ Park assignment
Referee: Craig Pawson
Assistants: Lee Betts and Marc Perry
Fourth Official: Tony Harrington
Video Assistant Referee: John Brooks
Craig Pawson’s first Premier League appointment came in March 2013 between Swansea City and Newcastle United at the Liberty Stadium, with the home side winning 1-0.
He officiated 39 games last term, including fixtures in the Champions League and at international level, and showed 156 yellow cards and three reds.
Pawson’s last refereed a Brentford game in January 2022; the Bees 2-1 winners against Aston Villa.
Last Meeting
Brentford 1 Newcastle United 2 (Premier League, 8 April 2023)
Newcastle United scored twice in six second-half minutes to take the points at Gtech Community Stadium.
Thomas Frank’s Bees dominated the first half and deservedly led at the interval. Ivan Toney had already seen a goal disallowed and missed a penalty before he converted from the spot on the stroke of half-time following a foul on Rico Henry.
However, Newcastle were a different side after the break. David Raya diverted Joelinton’s low cross-shot into his own net nine minutes after the restart before Alexander Isak’s fine curling finish on the hour completed the turnaround.
Callum Wilson saw a third goal disallowed for handball while Brentford’s best chance of an equaliser fell to Toney - Nick Pope making a fine low save to beat away his header.
The defeat ended the Bees’ 32-game record of never tasting defeat in a Premier League fixture which they’d led.