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Brentford vs. Burnley preview: Bees look to snap five match winless streak in Premier League

Brentford will be hoping to snap a five-match winless streak in the Premier League when they play against Burnley on Saturday at Turf Moor.

The Bees currently sit five points clear of the relegation zone and a win over the weekend could take them eight points clear. 

Injuries have provided Brentford manager Thomas Frank with difficulties heading down the final stretch of the season. 

Christian Nørgaard has been ruled out of the fixture due to a back injury after suffering a knock in the match against Arsenal on March 9th.

Bryan Mbeumo, Josh DaSilva, and Ethan Pinnock are all injured, but look set to return from injury within the upcoming weeks. These four players are important players to the squad and could provide a critical boost to the team heading down a crucial final stretch of the season.

Yoane Wissa’s sensational form over the past weeks have given Brentford a spark in attack. The Congolese forward returned from the African Cup of Nations in mid-February, and has impressed Frank with his goalscoring form since, having netted three in his previous three games.

“Yoane has done very well,” Frank said. “I think he found himself and took it to another level. Especially his game against Chelsea. It was very impressive with his work ethic, his pressing ability, his ability to run in behind and arriving in the box. He scored a fantastic bicycle kick goal. I really liked his performance against Arsenal. He had to work even harder off the ball. But, was still a constant threat in behind.”

Wissa has been paired in a strike partnership with Ivan Toney, who was called up to the England national team for the first time in almost a calendar year yesterday after returning from an eight month suspension for being found guilty of breaching the FA’s betting rules in January.

Frank is pleased to have Toney back in the team over the last couple of months and to see the striker receive another call-up for the national team.

“I know I’m a little bit biased, but I felt he fully deserved it with his performances over a long time,” Frank said. “I think he has the qualities and the abilities to be in the England squad. So pleased, so happy because he deserves it.”

From a defensive perspective, Brentford have been seeking improvement over the last month. A narrow 2-1 defeat against Arsenal last Saturday was closely contested. Vitaly Janelt enjoyed a great performance and had four tackles in the match. There was a cohesive effort to defend better as a team.

Frank has seen improvement defensively and is hoping for the same effort against Burnley. 

“I actually think that the Arsenal game was a big improvement in the right direction,” Frank said. “It was like a couple steps forward in the overall defensive performance. Then, it was still an area we are working very hard on that we conceded on two crosses. So, you can say that was a little bit of a step back. Also, the Chelsea game was a step forward in that aspect.”

Results elsewhere in the Premier League midweek eased relegation pressures for the Bees. Bournemouth made a thrilling comeback to defeat Luton Town 4-3 on Wednesday. Eighteenth-placed Luton remain on 21 points as a result, giving Brentford a five-point cushion as they head to Turf Moor.

 

Brentford, currently have 26 points, and there potentially could have been a two point gap between themselves in the relegation zone.

Frank is focused on the task ahead and trying to catch the rest of the mid-table teams ahead of them. 

“I’d say it’s more difficult to catch Bournemouth now,” Frank said. I don’t know. I’m focused on Burnley.”

Burnley are heading into the fixture joint-last with Sheffield United on 14 points. A win for Brentford could take them eight points clear of the relegation zone and possibly into 14th place. 

Author

  • Jaden Dakwa

    I am a sports journalist and I have been writing about football since 2021. Sports, in general, have been a passion of mine since a young age. The Gunners in North London are definitely my favorite team, but I have overwhelming love for the sport of football as a whole. In that aspect of my life, not much has changed.

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