Brentford vs Bournemouth

Gtech Community Stadium is the venue as Brentford and Bournemouth go head-to-head in only their third Premier League encounter.

Last season’s 9th-place finish was no fluke by any stretch of the imagination, with Brentford continuing to be a thorn in everyone’s side this term. After holding Tottenham to an action-packed 2-2 home draw on the opening weekend, the ‘Bees’ thrashed Fulham 3-0 on the road. But Thomas Frank’s side spurned a halftime lead in last week’s stomach-wrenching 1-1 home draw against other cross-town rivals, Crystal Palace, maintaining a 100% unbeaten Premier League start. Fatigue could pose a threat to Brentford’s bid to extend their unbeaten top-flight record against Bournemouth (W1, D1) after they needed penalties to overcome lower-league Newport County in midweek League Cup action following a 1-1 draw. Since they’ve kept a clean sheet in both previous Premier League meetings with the ‘Cherries,’ Brentford could be forgiven for entering this round overly optimistic.

On the other hand, Andoni Iraola’s managerial career in the Premier League started with a keenly-contested 1-1 stalemate against West Ham on day one. However, the Spaniard’s fortunes have taken a trip south, with Bournemouth first relinquishing an early lead in a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool before succumbing to a 2-0 home loss to Tottenham. They lost the second half 1-0 on both occasions, highlighting their tendency to fall apart after the break. Against this backdrop, the ‘Cherries’ fought back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to beat Championship underachievers Swansea City 3-2 in midweek League Cup action, offering Iraola a slight reason for optimism ahead of this trip. But after losing their last four away league games against Brentford, Bournemouth should not get ahead of themselves.