There’s always that extra buzz of excitement pre-game when I get to be in the ground and that is the case here. I’ve done Villarreal, Forest, Olympiakos, Atletico and Bayern already this season so it’s game number six in person – the ticket exchange has certainly been kind. Brentford will be a tricky opponent though and with it being a quick turnaround post-Chelsea and then pre-Villa, I’m half expecting a tight, tense contest, hopefully with us emerging victorious at full-time.

Predicted Lineup

In terms of Arteta’s team selection, I’m not expecting too much rotation personally. Raya obviously starts in goal and with Saliba remaining a doubt for Wednesday’s match, it looks highly likely that Mosquera and Hincapie will be partnered at centre-back again. If Ben White had shown more during his brief minutes so far this season, then this would be the sort of match that he may start. However, he just looks slightly off it to me right now which is understandable and given the form of Jurrien Timber, I don’t believe a change is necessary at right-back. There is no need to further increase our potential vulnerability defensively given the centre-back situation, especially against the in-form Brentford forward Thiago. Equally at left-back, Riccardo Calafiori should keep his place as both he and Myles Lewis-Skelly played a half each at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The Italian of course did not start against Bayern Munich either so there should be no fatigue issue for him.

‘The Horse’ Declan Rice has spoken about his enjoyment of playing every three or four days and has the endurance to do so. He’ll continue his classy partnership with our Spanish maestro Martin Zubimendi, who like Calafiori was replaced early at Chelsea following an earlier yellow card. Eze vs Odegaard is an interesting conundrum, but I will go with the theory that the Norwegian is not quite ready to start just yet. Eze’s form has been good and having come off against Bayern and Chelsea, has not had to play consecutive 90 minutes since the international break. On the left, this feels like more of a Madueke type of game against a deeper defence with less space in behind. Whereas on Saturday, Villa will play a high line, suiting Martinelli’s pace in transitional situations. Saka should get the nod too, although I don’t think it’s impossible that we see Madueke and Martinelli start with one withdrawn for Saka around the 55-60 minute mark. But Saka’s consistency of game time during Arteta’s time in charge and the fact that our other wingers are still regaining full match sharpness should be decisive. Finally, I’d like to see Victor Gyokeres up front, even if he only has an hour in him. I love Merino and the job he does as a makeshift striker is admirable, but when we have a natural number nine fit and available, we should always look to use that option.

So that’s the team I’m going for against Brentford. Having got nine players correct against Chelsea, I’m hoping to go one or two better this time around but you never know – Arteta always has a trick or two up his sleeve.

Our Opponents

Brentford have been really impressive this season. I forecasted them to finish around 16th, surviving relegation but being fairly near the bottom of the table. Losing manager Thomas Frank and starting 11 players Mark Flekken, Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and of course Christian Norgaard naturally weakened the Bees. However, they always seem to have a succession plan in place and that is the sign of a well-run football club. Set-piece coach Keith Andrews took over as manager, while they moved quickly to secure the services of Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool in what was an excellent market opportunity given that the Reds were well stocked with Alisson and Mamardashvili. Thiago has been a revelation up front with 11 Premier League goals already, keeping my fantasy team afloat in the process with recent braces against both Newcastle and Burnley. I’ve benched him this week though. Thiago’s signing is another example of Brentford planning ahead as they had sold Ivan Toney to Al-Ahli and possibly expected Mbeumo and/or Wissa to attract interest from elsewhere so they made sure they weren’t exposed in that area all at once. The prominence of Kevin Schade and Mikkel Damsgaard has grown too, with new boy Dango Outtara adding further attacking quality. Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson has more than ably filled the Norgaard void to help leave Brentford comfortably in 12th, eight points clear of the bottom three.

Score Prediction

None of our home games against Brentford have been straightforward since their promotion to the Premier League. A pair of 1-1 draws late last season and in February 2023 are coupled with narrow 2-1 wins in our favour, courtesy of Saka and Havertz winners. My instinct is that we will concede a goal here, given Saliba and Gabriel’s unavailability and Thiago’s form. However, we have Saka, Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli and even Jesus available with plenty of creativity in midfield and that should be enough over 90 minutes to get the job done. And if it all goes wrong, throw on Merino for a late header to rescue us.

Closing Thoughts

Three points tomorrow night would restore our five point lead over Manchester City, following their nine-goal thriller against Fulham. What a game that was tonight and if I put my neutral hat on for a moment, City played some unbelievable stuff for the first 55 minutes and then opened up completely to almost allow Fulham to snatch a draw. Foden, Haaland and Doku linked up superbly and you can’t help but think they may be level on points with us had Rodri been available for them for any length of time. We’re certainly in a race for this title though, given City’s power in front of goal and that just makes games like Brentford tomorrow that bit more important. Every game carries that bit of tension because we want this title so much so let’s go and get the three points! COYG