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Brentford-Wolves match preview: Bees seek victory at home against Wolves

Brentford FC will have the work cut out for them on Wednesday evening as they welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to the Gtech Community stadium in their final Premier League home game of the calendar year.

The Bees are on a three-match losing run, having won only one of their last six domestic league games, and face a Wolves side buoyant after a 2-1 Christmas Eve victory over Chelsea at Molineux.

Wolves currently have 22 points from 18 games, while Brentford are on 19 points having played a game less. A win for the Bees will bring them level on points with the Molineux outfit, while a draw or defeat will pile on further misery, and more likely than not plunge them further down the table.

Brentford have been plagued severely by injuries this season – Bryan Mbeumo, Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Kevin Schade and Kristoffer Ajer are all sidelined for Wednesday’s clash at home.

In the pre-match press conference, Brentford manager Thomas Frank bemoaned the lack of players at his disposal at the moment. The former Brþndby IF manager said: “We are among the top three clubs that have the most injuries. I would have loved more of our best players being available.”

In addition, Ben Mee is suspended after being given his marching orders for a rough tackle on Leon Bailey in the Bees’ 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa.

But, there is a ray of hope for Brentford fans as Frank confirmed that his 27-year-old compatriot Mathias Jensen – who hasn’t played since November 12 –  is in the running to be selected for Wednesday’s home game. 

https://twitter.com/BrentfordFC/status/1738233085181800916

He also praised the performances of both Keane Lewis-Potter and Mikel Damsgaard from the Aston Villa loss.

“I think both of them, when we were going into the season, I had big expectations from both of them.

“Hopefully we will see more good performances from both of them in 2024,” he said.

Frank waxed lyrical about his Wolves counterpart Gary O’Neil ahead of the game, praising him for his managerial prowess. 

“I think he did a brilliant job at Bournemouth – keeping them up was one of the best achievements in the Premier League last year. He did an amazing job there,” he said.

“They’re well organised and you can see that they are trying to build something which looks promising for the future. They have got some really good players,” the Danish manager said of the Wolves team set-up.

The match on Wednesday is Brentford’s first competitive game in over a week – the Bees didn’t play Manchester City this past weekend as the Sky Blues were in Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup.

It will be a quick turnaround for Gary O’Neil’s side, with just three days between their previous clash and this trip down to London.

When asked about his team and Wolves’ frequency of fixtures in the festive period, Frank said: “It is what it is. We, of course, will try to play it to our advantage. The disadvantage is that we haven’t played a game for nine days, so sometimes you need that as well.”

Brentford need a win and three points urgently, to end the calendar year on a positive note and to prepare for the challenges that will come early on in the new year – matches against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Liverpool between late January and mid-February.

Brentford logo
The Brentford crest on display at the club’s training grounds facility

Wolves’ top-flight away record in London this season will certainly drill confidence in Frank’s charges ahead of Wednesday’s fixture. The West Midlands outfit have lost on all four of their visits to the capital – against Crystal Palace, Fulham, Arsenal and West Ham.

On ensuring that Brentford win against Wolves and end their three-match losing run, Frank said: “We need to come out with big intensity, press very aggressively, and have that more complete performance.

“Cool, brave, aggressive – if we come with that mindset, I’m convinced we will have a good chance to hopefully turn around.”

Author

  • Chaitanya Kohli

    Sports journalist with a keen interest in covering stories about European club football and the history of the beautiful game. Passionate Barcelona and Messi supporter. Perennially interested in bringing out inspiring stories about Indian football on the global stage.

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