Following a 1-1 draw at Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers will meet for the third time in as many weeks at Molineux on Tuesday night for an Emirates FA Cup third-round replay (7.30pm kick-off).
If the Bees and Wolves cannot be separated again, there will be 30 minutes of extra-time played. If the tie is still level after that, the winner will decided by a penalty shootout.
The side that progresses will face West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in the fourth round.
Pre-match analysis
Alex Lawes, Playmaker Stats: Brentford can return to a more familiar gameplan at Molineux
In the original FA Cup third-round tie between Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Gtech Community Stadium, the Bees found themselves held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by 10-man Wolves.
Thomas Frank’s style of football and methods as a coach in charge of Brentford in the top flight have revolved around maximising strengths to punish opponents' weaknesses.
That is perhaps why Brentford found themselves frustrated in that draw with Gary O’Neil’s side a couple of weeks ago; unable to punish space, which was not afforded to them, and less suited to being proactive in possession, rather than reactive and able to play in transition.
For example, Brentford made 628 total passes in that match – in comparison to Wolves’ 229. Over the course of the Premier League season so far, the Bees have averaged 442.5 passes per game so they played nearly 200 passes more than their season's average as Wolves allowed the west Londoners to keep the ball, inviting them to try and break down a deep, stubborn defence.
Despite having so much of the ball, Brentford could only force 14 attempts on the visitors’ goal. Frank’s side average 13.5 per game in the Premier League, playing in an entirely different way with a lot less of the ball, so a fair argument could be made that playing against 10 men caused the Bees to veer away from what normally makes them effective.
Of those 14 attempts, only one came from inside the six-yard box. Brentford tend to average at least two per game from that zone – which is the third most in England’s top flight.
So, dominating the ball and up against 10 men, Brentford actually found it more difficult to maximise their own strengths. It could therefore be suggested that the replay at Molineux will be more suited to Frank's side with the onus being more on Wolves to take the game to their opposition.
O’Neil has earned praise for some of his detailed tactical game plans this season, most notably in impressive victories over Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
In those high-profile victories, Wolves were able to soak up pressure and counter effectively; it will therefore be interesting to see whether the Midlanders can alter their style and play on the front foot against Brentford... who may want them to do exactly that!
Scout Report
O’Neil and Wolves surpassing pre-season expectations
Wolves played out another season of relative mediocrity in 2022/23, finishing 13th after scoring only 31 goals in the Premier League - their lowest tally since the 1983/84 First Division campaign (27).
Until just after last Christmas, they were prime relegation candidates after picking up 13 points from their 18 games to the turn of the year. They were second bottom by this point - and had already sacked Bruno Lage in October as a consequence of a miserable first few months.
The Portuguese was replaced by former Porto, Real Madrid and Spain boss Julen Lopetegui, who had first been linked with the job at Molineux six years earlier.
There was still a lack of consistency after domestic football restarted, but the Spaniard ultimately delivered the results to secure a place safe in the middle of the pack, leading to a sixth straight season back in the Premier League.
“I don’t want to forget the second part of the season,” said Lopetegui after the season’s conclusion. “It was fantastic to be out of the relegation zone three matches before the end.
“Maybe it has been a little miracle, but now we have to learn for the future. Maybe one miracle is possible, but two? No. That’s why you have to improve and do your homework.”
A hectic summer followed. To comply with financial fair play regulations, Wolves had to sell their best assets this summer, including Rúben Neves to Al Hilal and, of course, Nathan Collins to Brentford. Matheus Cunha and Boubacar Traoré’s loan moves have become permanent, but the club were otherwise greatly restricted.
Then, six days before the curtain-raiser against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Lopetegui departed after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.
The search for a new boss lasted only a day, with Gary O’Neil installed two months after leaving Bournemouth but, as Wolves writer Liam Keen told us last month, on paper, this was not seen as an upgrade.
Yet O’Neil has won most of his doubters over with the way things have panned out so far.
Results-wise, they struggled at the start, with four defeats in the first five leaving them in the familiar surroundings of the relegation zone.
But things have picked up greatly since September, with the 25 points taken from the last 15 games resulting in a comfortable mid-table spot and a top-half finish not out of the question.
Wolves have already scored 30 goals in the Premier League; just one shy of last season’s total of 31.
That suggests an element of entertainment has returned to Molineux after two pretty conservative campaigns.
In the Dugout
Gary O’Neil
Gary O’Neil is a familiar face for the majority of English football fans, having played in either the Premier League or the Championship for the entirety of his 19-year career.
The former England Under-21 international played more than 500 games for the likes of Portsmouth, West Ham United and Norwich City, and won promotion from the second tier a remarkable four times.
He only retired from playing the game four years ago, having finished at Bolton Wanderers in May 2019 (after winning their Player of the Year award), and then been unable to find a club to prolong his career with after an Achilles injury.
O’Neil’s coaching career began in August 2020, when he worked as the assistant to Liverpool Under-23 boss Barry Lewtas and, six months later, he was drafted in as first-team coach at Bournemouth, after Jonathan Woodgate’s appointment.
Woodgate departed the Vitality Stadium that summer, but O’Neil stayed on to work under former West Ham team-mate Scott Parker and, when Parker left shortly after promotion back to the Premier League at the start of the 2022/23 campaign, he was appointed as head coach last November after three months as caretaker.
The 40-year-old kept the Cherries in the top flight for another season, securing a 15th-place finish, five points above the relegation zone, but was sacked in June in favour of Andoni Iraola.
O’Neil was appointed as Wolves boss on 9 August.
The Gameplan
With the Express and Star’s Liam Keen
Liam Keen, Wolves writer for the Express and Star, explains how Gary O’Neil is likely to set up his side at Molineux:
“I think he will go strong again. [Rayan] Aït-Nouri, Hee-chan Hwang and Boubacar Traoré will not be around because of international duty.
“As I have said, I think [Pedro] Neto will start, Pablo Sarabia will keep his place, [Matheus] Cunha will keep his place, and the rest will be about the same as the last game.
“They are hoping Hugo Bueno will be available so, if he is, he might come in for Matt Docherty at left wing-back, and Craig Dawson could come back if he is fit.
“With how fairly comfortable they are in the league at the moment, it is attractive for Wolves to go on a cup run - and there is an even bigger incentive now West Brom are coming up in the fourth round.”
Read the full interview with Liam Keen here
Team News
Brentford boosted by Ajer return
Kristoffer Ajer hasn’t featured for the first team since late November due to a foot injury but got some valuable minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brøndby on 13 January and could feature at Molineux on Tuesday night.
Having served a three-match suspension, fellow defender Ben Mee is also available for selection.
Tuesday’s meeting with Wolves is the last game that the Bees must play without Ivan Toney.
The striker - who Thomas Frank said is “like a new singing” – will train with a small group at the Robert Rowan Performance Centre on Tuesday in preparation for Saturday’s Premier League game against Nottingham Forest.
Match Officials
Madley the man in the middle
Referee: Andrew Madley
Assistants: Harry Lennard and Nick Hopton
Fourth official: Gavin Ward
Video assistant referees: Graham Scott and Paul Tierney
Additional video assistant referee: Nick Greenhalgh
Andrew Madley took charge of a Premier League game for the first time on 31 March 2018: a 2-2 draw between Watford and Bournemouth.
Last season, Madley officiated 34 matches including Brentford’s 2-0 victory over Chelsea in April.
In total, Madley showed 122 yellow cards and one red card last term.
Madley refereed the meeting between the Bees and Wolves on 27 December as goals from Mario Lemina, Hwang Hee-chan (2) and substitute Jeanricner Bellegarde consigned Thomas Frank’s side to a 4-1 defeat at Gtech Community Stadium.
Last Meeting
Brentford 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (FA Cup third round, 5 January 2024)
Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers couldn’t be separated at Gtech Community Stadium, drawing 1-1 in the Emirates FA Cup third round to set up a replay at Molineux.
Wolves' João Gomes was sent off inside the opening 10 minutes for a bad challenge on Christian Nørgaard, which allowed the Bees to dominate the ball and take the lead through Neal Maupay towards the end of the first half.
But the visitors kept themselves in the game and equalised in stunning fashion in the second half, when Tommy Doyle arrowed an effort from the edge of the area into the top corner.