West Bromwich Albion vs Brentford
West Bromwich Albion vs Brentford Tuesday 22 September 2020 – 19:00 (GMT)
EFL Cup
Pick: Brentford or Draw (Double Chance)
Odds: 4/6
Bookmaker: Boylesports
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 20 September 2020)
Preview: At The Hawthorns on Tuesday, Brentford will fancy their chances of banking their second EFL Cup win over Premier League opposition when they travel to the West Midlands to tackle West Brom.
Table of Contents
West Bromwich Albion Preview – Focus rests solely on Premier League?
Baggies manager Slaven Bilic opted to ring in the changes for the visit of Harrowgate Town in the previous round of this tournament. A combination of fringe players and debutants would ultimately coast to a 3-0 scoreline at The Hawthorns, through goals from Rakeem Harper, Hal Robson-Kanu and Callum Robinson, but they now face a much sterner examination of their EFL Cup credentials on Tuesday.
In was in the Championship last season that West Brom pipped upcoming opponents Brentford to second place, and with it promotion to the Premier League, despite mustering one point and as many goals scored from the two teams respective league meetings that term. However, a 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns in December 2019 does mean the Baggies remain unbeaten between the sides when at home (W2 D2).
Admittedly, we’re not anticipating as many as ten changes, as was the case in the previous round, on Tuesday. Nevertheless, after taking no points whilst conceding eight times from their opening two Premier League fixtures so far, it would come as a surprise were Bilic not to hold several first-team members in reserve here with a keen view on this weekend’s formidable encounter with big-spending Chelsea.
Brentford Preview – Bees seeking second top flight scalp?
The worst possible start to the new season saw The Bees slump to a surprising opening day defeat on their return to Championship commitments, losing the opening fixture 1-0 away to Birmingham City little more than a month after suffering a heartbreaking extra-time defeat to Fulham in the play-off final. Four days later they were beating Southampton 2-0 at St Mary’s to book their spot in the EFL Cup third round.
Southampton paid Thomas Frank’s side the utmost respect by naming a near full-strength team. Brentford, meanwhile, were without Ollie Watkins (recently transferred to Aston Villa), Said Benrahma (reportedly still injured) and were only able to name five substitutes due to some members of their squad adhering to quarantine protocols. To then eliminate an improving Saints team, and deservedly so, was a marker of their intent.
Brentford would follow up that impressive scalp by comfortably dispatching Huddersfield Town 3-0 in the league on Saturday, inside their newly erected Brentford Community Stadium. The Bees will therefore arrive at The Hawthorns – a venue which has brought them 1-1 draws in each of the past two seasons – in high spirits and targeting their third successive victory in all competitions within the space of a week.
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West Brom vs Brentford Betting Advice
These teams would meet regularly in the Championship in recent seasons. Across four previous meetings, there were wins apiece (both 1-0 scorelines) along with two 1-1 draws. Goals have been at a premium, which makes the odds about another low-scoring affair worthy of some consideration with Under 2.5 Goals available at an attractive price of 9/10 (Betfair) at the time of writing.
West Brom Vs Brentford – Key Facts
- The Baggies have won three of their last nine matches (W3 D3 L3) in all competitions at The Hawthorns, with the latest a 3-0 victory over Harrowgate Town in the previous round.
- Brentford had lost three away matches on the spin, stretching back into last season, prior to upsetting Southampton to win 2-0 away at St Mary’s in the second round.
- Each of the past two meetings between the sides at The Hawthorns has ended in a 1-1 scoreline, with Brentford still searching for their first away win over West Brom.
Backing goals not to occur isn’t my forte, though – it seems a negative approach, I find it a nervy experience supporting such a bet, and, more importantly, it rarely seems to work for me personally. Instead, I like the visitors, whose recent body of work against Southampton has to give them serious claims here up against comparatively inferior opposition who may feel their priorities reside elsewhere. 2-0 Brentford.
Best Betting Odds – West Brom Vs Brentford
West Brom – 13/10 (Betfair)
Draw – 12/5 (Betway)
Brentford – 11/5 (Unibet)
