Brentford

Brentford are not great away from home, while West Ham need to get something after taking only one point from their past three matches.

This has got a draw written all over it, really, but I am not going to take the easy option and go for 1-1 here like my guest has done. That would be boring!

Although Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa are always so dangerous for the Bees, I am going to go with West Ham to win it.

New Hammers boss Graham Potter has taken over a difficult situation and he is finding it hard to get results - he has only won one of his five games in charge so far.

Their struggles are not on him though, and it would definitely boost their chances if he has Jarrod Bowen back from injury soon - he has been training this week.

Bowen scored a hat-trick when West Ham beat Brentford 4-2 in February last year. There won't be as many goals this time, but I am going for the same outcome.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against West Ham (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Goalkeeper Mark Flekken "is ready and will be in goal" while Aaron Hickey "is training with the first team in parts" and is expected to return to full squad training next week.

• More from Frank on Hickey: "He has been out for 16 months. I will be happy the day he is involved in the squad, more happy when he comes on the pitch, and even more happy when he is starting a game. But when he has been out for so long, I don't want to be too excited before he is really ready."

• Rico Henry has "just been training on the pitch, but not with the team" so remains unavailable for Saturday's game.

• Igor Thiago "is still a bit away," with Frank unable to give a timeframe on the striker's return.

• On opponents West Ham: "I like Graham [Potter] a lot. He is a great guy and a fantastic coach. You can already see that in his West Ham team. His first step was to change the shape. There is some clear structure in what they are doing now."

• He said the Hammers provide a threat "offensively and defensively" and "have clear principles in all phases."

• On turning around Brentford's recent form after three defeats in six games: "We want to end up as high as possible - top half would be amazing - but it will be very difficult with very good clubs around us. What we need to focus on is performing well every week - and the first game ahead is West Ham."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Brentford have scored in all seven of their Premier League games against West Ham. That is the most times they have faced an opponent with a 100% scoring rate in the competition. The Hammers have only played Ipswich more often without keeping a clean sheet (nine matches).

After failing to win any of their first nine away Premier League fixtures of 2024-25 (D2 L7), Brentford have won their past two, and could win three in a row for the first time in the top flight.

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

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With Brentford safely mid-table and out of both cup competitions, it is not too early to start thinking about next season.

The Bees are now an established Premier League club, which is a remarkable achievement given the budgets and sizes of the sides with whom we are competing.

The squad is fairly settled but one issue which needs resolving quickly is the status of captain Christian Norgaard.

His contract runs out this summer, although the club has the option to extend it by a year, and not much has been said about what is happening.

Thomas Frank was asked about the situation before last month's Manchester City game and replied: "We are in dialogue with Christian. He is happy here and we are happy with him, so let's see."

After the 2-2 draw with the champions, in which Norgaard scored a last-gasp equaliser, Frank said: "We are always better when he is playing."

He is correct - Brentford's record without the Dane is much poorer than when he is playing in the side - so this leaves us fans wondering what the delay is in pinning him down to a new deal.

Could it be his age? He will be 31 next month and the Bees have few players over the age of 30 years old in their squad. Plus, Norgaard is already our fourth-oldest player.

Or could he, like Henrik Dalsgaard and Pontus Jansson before him, simply want to go back to his native Denmark?

All fans can do is speculate and hope the club will agree a new contract with Norgaard. He has played a vital part in our progress since 2019, and it would be a massive loss if he left.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

Is there something you want to ask about a Premier League club?

Former Premier League defender Nedum Onuoha is ready to answer your burning questions and give his thoughts on some of the biggest talking points for a special Q&A.

Submit your questions here and come back on Thursday for his answers

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We asked for your views on one thing nobody is talking about at Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Chris: The amount of injuries (long and short term) needs to be addressed. Da Silva and Hickey have been out for years. Nunes signed last summer and we've never seen him. Thiago and Rico Henry both out again. At one point we had an entire squad out injured; something's not right somewhere.

Benjamin: How the defeat to Tottenham highlighted how important Flekken is to the way we play. It's not about Spurs' first goal (though a more experienced keeper would probably command his six-yard box a little better). It's about how, throughout the game, we played short from the back and drew Spurs onto us but couldn't then find the pass out to a full-back to break the press and drive into space. Sweeper keepers are often rationalized by the idea that "they create more goals and control than they concede" when they make a mistake. The Spurs game was a perfect example of what Flekken brings to Brentford but most fans don't notice.

Richard: I think we have actually been playing better than this stage last season. Bear in mind we have been without our regular full-backs for nearly a season and a half with long term injuries. Our major new forward signing has barely played this season due to a sequence of injuries. Some players may have been distracted over the last month by transfer talk. And the standard in the Premier League this season has been much higher than last year, when all three promoted teams were very poor.

So we will continue to punch above our weight and I'm sure will pick up, enough points in the second half of the season to be safe.

Paul: It's still an incredible story we are in the Premier League and the last season and this one have been heavily impacted by injuries. If we had Thiago fit it gives another option to go long and release pressure. You can see the blueprint is there. It's just so frustrating for Thomas Frank he can't show it. An attacking mix of Mbeumo, Wissa, Thiago, Schade is up there as the most threatening in the league. It's a fabulous club, well run, kind and sometimes that's more important than anything.

Brentford have one win in their past four league outings and are also out of the FA Cup - though there has arguably been plenty to like in their performances.

Is there something at the club that needs addressing?

You know the Bees best, so we want you to tell us the one thing - good or bad - nobody is talking about but should be.

Let us know here

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Brentford's January transfer window was as it always is these days - quiet.

Gone are the days of having to sell our best players for financial reasons during this window, as used to happen when we were in the lower divisions - Paul Smith and DJ Campbell being two names who spring to mind.

Instead, we can ignore underwhelming bids which may come in - such as Nottingham Forest's £22m punt for Yoane Wissa - safe in the knowledge that we do not have to sell anyone mid-season.

I was never worried about us losing Wissa or Bryan Mbeumo, and it is nice to be able to relax as the window "slams shut"!

It was one right-back in and one out in the first-team squad and, as I discussed in part last week, three long-term contracts signed.

Michael Kayode arrived on loan with a view to a permanent move from Fiorentina and made a great cameo debut against Spurs on Sunday.

He replaced long-serving Mads Roerslev, a member of the squad which won promotion to the Premier League, who joined Wolfsburg on a similar deal.

More importantly, we secured the long-term future of three players.

Two of them are Mikkel Damsgaard and Keane Lewis-Potter, who have both starred this season and finally showed the form we had hoped to see from them.

And we have kept faith in Aaron Hickey, who has been out injured since October 2023, by extending his stay with us too.

None of this really changes our prospects for the rest of the season.

We are not going down and probably will not qualify for Europe, but I will take a solid mid-table finish, and maybe our second highest Premier League position.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

Brentford have completed the loan signing of Romelle Donovan from Birmingham City.

The 18-year-old will join the Brentford B team for the remainder of the 2024-25 season, subject to EFL, FA and Premier League approval.

Donovan made seven appearances for Birmingham, before a loan move to Burton Albion at the start of 2024-25. He played nine games for the Brewers before being recalled.

Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane said: "We look forward to working with Romelle in the months that remain of this season.

"We have a lot of exciting games to be played between now and the end of the season. Romelle will definitely add to our attacking options within the group.

"He is a player who has really good technical abilities aligned to our attacking style of play and he comes into a team that has been performing so well this season. We believe he can add goals and assists to further enhance the current group."

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Nottingham Forest had eyes on Brentford's Yoane Wissa as a potential striking target before the window closed but the trail has gone cold.

It was reported Forest were willing to pay in excess of £20m for the 28-year-old, who has scored 11 Premier League goals this season.

Brentford were not willing sellers and would demand well in excess of that fee to even consider a deal.

Forest had become increasingly pessimistic of any deal being sanctioned, while the Bees are in no mood to sell such a vital component of their attack.

We asked you what would ensure you are satisfied this deadline day.

Here are some of your comments:

Philip: To keep what we currently have and maybe add a centre-back, so that we have cover for Ben Mee and Ethan Pinnock who are not getting any younger. Left-back is hopefully sorted and we have got cover at right back. Two more Mikkel Damsgaard's for midfield would be good. Up front it is about keeping what we have.

Peter: A proven central goal poacher.

Colin: Brentford need a big strong centre-forward to take the heat off Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa and put pressure on defenders. They can't keep relying on Mbeumo and Wissa cutting in and scoring. Too many games this season have been lost by the odd goal.

Theo: Not to sell any of our best players.

It's the last day of the winter transfer window and Premier League clubs have until 23:00 GMT to complete their business.

We'll bring you all the news, views, twists and turns as the clock ticks down to deadline.

Follow it all here

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's three Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Bournemouth 0-2 Liverpool

• Wolves 2-0 Aston Villa

• Manchester United 0-2 Crystal Palace

• Brentford 0-2 Tottenham

• Arsenal 5-1 Manchester City

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Brentford and Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Richard: A very good performance, we just couldn't get a goal and should have got one. All credit to Tottenham for winning. It was a fair game in the end.

David: That was a torturous game to watch as a Brentford fan. We looked the most likely team to score in the opening 15 to 20 minutes and then it became sluggish. Bryan Mbeumo wasn't at the races, but Mikkel Damsgaard was unplayable at times and Michael Kayode looks like a strong signing.

Phil: I'm disappointed with the Bees' performances in the last few home games, with the exception of the Manchester City match, which was fantastic. The team needs a few fresh ideas. Anyway, onwards and upwards and fortune changes.

Ian: On this performance, relegation looms. There is no idea, no desire and we are a team going through the motions. We will probably survive this season but don't hold your breath next season.

Tottenham fans

George: A great result. It wasn't our most fluent but the battle showed by the lads was tremendous, against a team with one of the best home records in the division. More on Thursday night boys!

Anff: We badly needed a result. It would be churlish to complain about the general performance, but if the Bees had been on song then I think we would have lost that game. But a win is a win, so on we go!

Tristen: Finally Ange Postecoglou had the sense beaten into him to play two defensive midfielders to protect our vulnerable defence. Why it has taken so long is beyond me, and a huge embarrassment for Ange and his stubborn tactics. He needs to play the best XI available that can win him games, not blindly play the system he wants without the players to do it.

Gazza: Djed Spence has been outstanding all along. It just goes to show the muddled thinking there is at Spurs. Then we go and buy Pedro Porro for £40m! You couldn't write it.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist at the Gtech Community Stadium

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Brentford went into this match as the top scorers at home in the Premier League this season, but suffered a rare blank as they were frustrated by Tottenham.

It proved to be a scrappy affair at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday, with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances.

Away goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky parried an effort from Christian Norgaard and held a strike from Bryan Mbeumo, with Yoane Wissa also glancing a header wide as an organised Spurs defence repelled the hosts' attacks.

Brentford, who had gone behind in the first half when the ball bounced off the back of the unfortunate Vitaly Janelt following Son Heung-min's excellent inswinging corner, were the better side in the second half as they pushed for an equaliser.

But Spurs hit them with an 87th-minute sucker punch with substitute Pape Matar Sarr running on to Son's pass to score the second and take the game away from the Bees.

Worryingly for Brentford, their season is in danger of just fading out. They may already have enough points to be safe from relegation, but the dreams of qualifying for Europe are vanishing after they lost for the fifth time at home in their past six matches in all competitions.

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Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to BBC Sport about the defeat at Gtech Community Stadium: "We did a lot of things right. We created a lot of good situations with 30-something crosses and a lot of shots, but there were not enough big chances.

"That was some of the best defending Tottenham have done this season. Sometimes one goal decides it a little bit and they scored on a set-piece. On the flip side, we don't score any of our set-pieces.

"If we had got in front, it might have been a different game. The big one is Yoane Wissa's chance."

On whether the club will be doing more transfer business: "I'm not expecting anyone in or out [on deadline day]."

On goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson making his first Premier League start: "He was good with his hands especially."

On the injury to Mark Flekken: "He has a side strain, but we have two weeks until our next game."

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford have lost four of their last five Premier League home games by at least a two-goal margin (against Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham). This is as many such defeats as they had in their previous 23 home games in the competition (4).

The Bees had 20 shots and 2.29 xG against Tottenham - both of which are their highest totals in a Premier League game where they have failed to score.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Tottenham's display?