Brentford vs Leeds United
When Leeds visited Brentford last May, it was all or nothing for the Whites as they had to win that match in order to stay alive in the Premier League.
They did come out winners to ensure their survival. And fast forward to today, they’re enjoying a decent start to their 2022-23 campaign – placing sixth with eight points after the first five fixtures.
Leeds will face a Brentford side who have struggled since their dominant 4-0 win against Manchester United last August. The Bees have fallen to 10th in the table since they’ve yet to register a victory in their last three matches.
With both sides aiming to win, this should be another intense affair and SBOTOP has you covered for the preview of this fixture.
Talking Points
Brentford can’t afford another slow start
The Bees are no strangers to late drama as they would find themselves in a losing position, only to try and a make a comeback in the end. Sometimes they’ll succeed, but it has led them to dropping points more often.
Save for their second round Carabao Cup triumph over Colchester where they were the superior side all game long, Brentford had subpar Premier League 2022 results versus Fulham, Everton, and Crystal Palace last night.
Their backline inexplicably surrendered a goal from Fulham’s Bobby Reid after just one minute and Joao Palhinha put the Cottagers up by two goals, but the Bees answered back with scores from Christian Norgaard and Ivan Toney.
If it weren’t for Aleksander Mitrovic’s late goal, Brentford would’ve gotten a point.
Against Everton and Crystal Palace, they were also trailing when Anthony Gordon and Wilfried Zaha scored, but Vitaly Janelt and Yoane Wissa’s equalisers bailed them out.
Head coach Thomas Frank may be happy with his team’s character, but for sure deep inside he has mixed feelings. Resiliency is definitely an admirable trait, but this isn’t a sustainable formula for Brentford moving forward.
Leeds United mulling attacking reinforcements
The Whites will aim to make a late swoop before the summer transfer window ends as they’re sweating about the fitness of their top forward Rodrigo Moreno.
The resurgent Spaniard, who has netted four goals so far this season, dislocated his shoulder after trying to beat Jordan Pickford during their match against Everton yesterday.
Leeds were down by one after Anthony Gordon’s 17th minute goal, but Luis Sinisterra saved them a point by scoring 15 minutes after half-time.
Meanwhile, Patrick Bamford has yet to regain his form since he’s still bothered by his adductor injury, and Leeds are going to be handicapped if he and Rodrigo won’t be 100-per cent fit soon.
To try and address this, Leeds are looking at Cody Gakpo and Hwang Hee-Chan. Gakpo is fresh from a superb campaign with PSV, while Hwang has worked with Jesse Marsch before at RB Leipzig.
But they are in danger of missing out on these two as Wolves rejected their bid for the Korean, while Gakpo is closer to joining Southampton after the Hampshire side increased their bid to PSV.
History
This is going to be the third league encounter between Brentford and Leeds since 1947. The sample size of their top-flight head-to-heads is small since it took both of them decades to re-establish themselves the Premier League.
Their most recent meeting took place few months ago where the Whites defeated the Bees 2-1 on the road as Raphinha scored via a penalty kick and Jack Harrison put on the finishing touches during added time.
Sergi Canos equalised for the hosts after Raphinha’s score but was sent off after he got two yellow cards, and that proved to be costly.
Prior to the said loss, the Bees were unbeaten at home in their last 10 meetings against the Whites since a 2-1 defeat in August 1950. Leeds, on the other hand, have lost just one of their last seven games against Brentford (W3, D3).
Betting Tip
Despite being not in the best of form, Brentford are being favoured by the Premier League 2022 odds. The Bees are installed 2.12, but Leeds aren’t far behind at 3.25 and a draw is priced at 3.45 in the 1X2 market.
Compared to before, there’s a bigger sense of urgency this time for Brentford to win in order for them to stay afloat in the top half. As for Leeds, a victory would put them back into the Top 5.
In the end, we feel that goals are guaranteed for this fixture so we’re backing Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.96 as your surefire bet.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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