Brentford welcome Everton to the Gtech on Wednesday evening, looking to pick up where they left off on Friday at Leicester City. Nick Bruzon previews.
That 4-0 thumping one to leave everybody smiling as the Foxes were left with tails between legs. Fans streaming out of the ground with little more than a half-hour played and Brentford magnificent. Mikkel Damsgaard at his mercurial best and four different players scoring the goals. It could have been more but let’s not be greedy.
Sadly, victory came at a price. Christian Norgaard’s half-time substitution now confirmed by Thomas Frank in Monday’s press conference as a concussion and, as such, he misses out. The Bees’ head coach sharing that, “He is out with a concussion. He felt fine on the pitch but it got a bit worse at half-time, so we unfortunately had to sub him off”.
The skipper has been crucial this campaign although his absence does present another opportunity for Yehor Yarmoliuk. The Ukranian is proving to be yet another triumph for the B-team recruitment mode. He’s looked better and better each time he has played this campaign. So much so that it’s hard to think he’s still just 20 years old. It won’t be much longer before he’s made the jump from subs’ bench to being a regular first-teamer.
Other than that it really will be more of the same from Thomas. Sepp van den Berg remains on the injury list alongside Matthias Jensen so the Bees will line up:
Flekken, KLP, Collins, Pinnnock, Ajer, Janelt, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Schade, Mbeumo, Wissa.
For Everton, the departure of Sean Dyche has seen the most enormous albatross fall from their neck. From looking like genuine relegation candidates they are now in a position where the goals are flowing once more and win is following win.
Perhaps Neal Maupay was right after all?
The last six games have seen defeats of Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Brighton and Spurs as well as draws with Liverpool and Manchester United. The returning David Moyes really has breathed new life into a team shackled by the anti-football stylings of the Neanderthal Dyche.
Seamus Coleman, Armando Broja, Dwight McNeil, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Iliman Ndiaye are amongst those on a semi-lengthy casualty list but don’t let that sucker you in to any false hopes that this one will be easy.
With relegation pressure now well and truly off, they’ll be looking to see out the final season at Goodison Park in style. So far, so good. At least, since Moyes arrived.
A statistical curio also provides further reason for caution. For all that we love football under lights, Brentford have never won a Premier League midweek evening fixture at the Gtech. I find this hard to believe but it seems to be true.
We’re good Friday-Monday but the last three and half seasons have seen anything in between provide a somewhat unusual hurdle to clear.
Defeats of Arsenal, Watford and Brighton came on a Friday night. Liverpool a Monday. Yet everything Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday has seen a D/L. Go figure?
Records – good or bad – are there to be broken. The Bees have been on fire in recent weeks and despite the challenge that this game will provide, I’m confident that Thomas Frank’s team will have enough about them to make it a happy Wednesday night.
If nothing else, there are plenty of other points to prove. We’ve got last campaign’s 3-1 home reverse to avenge whilst who could forget the subsequently rescinded red card shown to Christian earlier in the season, up at Goodison Park?
Not to mention the fact that it’s always nice to get one over our former number 26…
Bring it on and see you there.
