Brentford v Tottenham: On-form Mbeumo to sting Spurs

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·1 febbraio 2025

Brentford v Tottenham: On-form Mbeumo to sting Spurs

English Premier League

Bryan Mbeumo has scored 14 Premier League goals this term for Brentford

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Spurs had a rare win in midweek, but Kevin Hatchard believes their misery will return at Brentford on Sunday.

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Brentford v TottenhamSunday 02 February, 14:00

Bees still buzzing towards top half

I remember the days when I was a young (ish) reporter at ClubCall, interviewing Martin Allen, Sam Sodje and company, as the Bees tried to climb out of the third tier of English football. This was at Griffin Park, Matthew Benham was years away from buying the club, and as such there was no detailed data driving the club's forward progress.

For those who remember those days, accruing 40 points to make sure of survival in the top flight will perhaps always be the main thing on the agenda, but Brentford are just nine points away from that total this season. They have one of the best home records in the division (only top-three sides Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Liverpool have won there this term), and they have rattled in 35 goals already.

With Ivan Toney now in Saudi Arabia and his nominal replacement Igor Thiago beset by injury problems, Brentford needed others to step up, and that's what Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo have done. Wissa has 11 Premier League goals (he is now the club's all-time leading PL scorer) and Mbeumo (pronounced M-burr-moh, even though everyone seems to keep mispronouncing it as M-bway-moh) has produced 14 goals and three assists.

Thomas Frank continues to work wonders, and while the Danish coach has been linked with Manchester United, Tottenham and pre-Unai Emery Aston Villa, he seems genuinely happy where he is. He is in his third top-flight season with the club, and they are becoming an exciting destination for young talent. Players like Kevin Schade, Mikkel Damsgaard, Keane Lewis-Potter and Sepp van den Berg are all making forward strides.

Schade and Christian Norgaard are a doubt for this one, while Nico Henry, Igor Thiago, Ethan Pinnock and Aaron Hickey are all out.

Celebration of youth a distraction from Spurs' woes

Thursday night saw Tottenham qualify for the last 16 of the Europa League as a top-eight side, as they swept aside Swedish side Elfsborg 3-0. All of the goals were maiden goals for youngsters Dane Scarlett, Damola Ajayi and Mikey Moore, and 17-year-old Moore became the youngest ever English goalscorer in European competition.

However, a few days earlier Tottenham had stunk out the same stadium in a truly dismal 2-1 defeat against Leicester City in the Premier League. Losing the xG battle to one of the worst teams in the division was tough to stomach for Spurs fans, and some of them have turned their ire on the chairman Daniel Levy.

Spurs have lost 13 of their 23 Premier League matches, and are just eight points above the relegation zone. While no-one is seriously suggesting that Tottenham will be relegated, the pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou is there for all to see.

That said, the injury crisis is finally abating. The much-missed Micky van de Ven played 45 minutes on Thursday night, while Cristian Romero is targeting the second leg of the League Cup semi-final at Liverpool. Brennan Johnson, Destony Udogie, Dominic Solanke and James Maddison are all expected to miss the game with injury.

Keep hosts onside, and back Mbeumo

I suggested in my pre-season Golden Boot preview that Bryan Mbeumo would have a strong goalscoring season, but I didn't expect him to rack up 14 goals already. The Cameroon international has been outstanding, and it's no surprise that he is attracting interest from clubs like Arsenal.

Given Spurs' injury problems and their awful form, I'm tempted to just back the home win at 2.1, but instead I'll be pro-Brentford in a different way. Let's back Brentford/Draw Double Chance to give us a bit of insurance, Bryan Mbeumo to score or assist and Brentford to have four or more shots on target at 23/20 on the Sportsbook's Bet Builder. Brentford have had 117 shots on target in the Premier League this term, the sixth-best record in the division.

Wissa to take some punishment

Yoane Wissa doesn't just score goals for Brentford, but he is willing to take a few kicks as he spearheads the attack. We can back him to be fouled twice or more at 11/10, and that bet has paid out in ten of his 19 Premier League starts this term, including four of the last seven.