Newcastle United will travel to the Gtech Community Stadium to take on Brentford on Saturday, looking to build on their impressive performance during the midweek.
Newcastle United managed to secure a 3-3 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League, and they will certainly fancy their chances of getting a good result vs Brentford if they can replicate the midweek performance on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Brentford are coming into this game on the back of a defeat against Aston Villa, and they will be desperate to bounce back at home. The Bees have done reasonably well in recent weeks, and they are 11th in the league table. They will look to move into the top half with a victory in front of their own fans.
Brentford have struggled vs Newcastle United in recent seasons, and it remains to be seen whether they can make amends here. Both teams are capable of grinding out a positive result against each other, and this should be a fascinating contest. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Brentford
Brentford will be without Joshua Dasilva due to a knee injury, Gustavo Nunes due to a back injury, Rico Henry due to a knee injury, Aaron Hickey due to a thigh injury, Mathias Jensen because of a thigh injury, and Kristoffer Ajer because of an ankle injury.
The home side will shape up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Mark Flekken in goal. Mads Roerslev and Keane Lewis-Potter will be deployed as the full-backs here. They will look to keep things tight defensively and hit Newcastle United on the break. Nathan Collins will start at the heart of the defence alongside Ethan Pinnock.
Vitaly Janelt will start in the midfield three alongside Christian Norgaard and Mikkel Damsgaard. Janelt and Norgaard will add defensive cover to the side and Damsgaard will add creativity and drive. Finally, Kevin Schade will lead the line for Brentford vs Newcastle United, with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa on either side of him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Schade, Wissa
Newcastle United
Newcastle United will be without Emil Krafth due to a shoulder injury. Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles are out with knee injuries, and Kieran Trippier will miss out due to illness. They will shape up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Nick Pope in goal.
Valentino Livramento and Lewis Hall will start as the full-backs. They will look to help out at both ends of the pitch. Lloyd Kelly will start in central the defensive partnership alongside Fabian Schar.
As for the midfield unit, Bruno Guimaraes will start alongside Sandro Tonali and Joelinton. Tonali will look to win the ball back for his side and protect the central defenders, while Guimaraes and Joelinton will add creativity and drive to the side. Alexander Isak will lead the line for Newcastle United vs Brentford, with Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon on either side of him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pope; Livramento, Schar, Kelly, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Gordon
Key Stats
Newcastle United have won their last five matches vs Brentford in all competitions.
Newcastle United have scored at least two goals in five of their last six matches against Brentford in all competitions.
24 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two sides.
Both teams are unbeaten in four of their last 6 Premier League matches.
Newcastle United have let in seven goals in their last four Premier League matches.
Player to Watch
Alexander Isak
Embed from Getty Images
The Newcastle United striker is our key player to watch out for. He will look to create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates in the final third and get on the score sheet himself. The Swede has been in spectacular form for Newcastle, and he terrorised the Liverpool defence during the midweek. The Swedish international scored an outstanding goal as well. It remains to be seen whether he can make a big difference in the final third for Newcastle here as well.
Prediction
Brentford 1-2 Newcastle United
Newcastle United are the better team on paper, and they have an impressive record against Brentford. The performance against Liverpool was outstanding, and they will have gained some confidence from it.
The Tyneside outfit will certainly look to build on that and put together a positive run of results now. They should be able to grind out a narrow victory here. Both teams will be playing for the win and Newcastle United have enough fire-power to find a way past Brentford.