Brentford

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We asked Brentford fans what's the one thing nobody is talking about but should be - good or bad?

Here are some of your comments:

Gabe: Simple really - injuries. It cost us dearly last season so hopefully it doesn’t cost us this season. We have one of the most injury-affected squads in the league with several key players out. However, this gives younger players a chance to shine.

Rory: Ethan Pinnock is making too many mistakes but Mark Flekken and Nathan Collins are performing extremely well. I think when Igor Thiago and other players come back into the squad, we will look like a threat for a spot in Europe.

Gary: Where is Rico Henry? He was due back in September after the international break but where is he? No update in Thomas Frank's press conference for weeks.

Pete: Few questions - will we turn Kevin Schade into a centre-forward as we did with Ollie Watkins? It seems like the best option at the moment with Wissa and Thiago out. Where is Fabio Carvalho's best position and how does he slot in around the existing midfield? Kristoffer Ajer has been great but Hickey's injury was clearly a set back - why didn't we go for a quality loan down that side?

Peter: No one is talking about putting aerial support up front to lock on to the long balls from the keeper. We need to stop playing out from the back and giving the ball away. Ajer could be put into this role, creating a better press and taking the pressure off the defence.

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The draw has been made for the Carabao Cup fourth round, with 12 Premier League clubs having made it through and Newcastle set to play their postponed tie against Wimbledon on 1 October.

There are four confirmed all-Premier League fixtures, including Tottenham hosting Manchester City and holders Liverpool travelling to Brighton.

Ties are scheduled to take place the week commencing 28 October.

All the fixtures featuring top-flight sides are shown below:

• Brentford v Sheffield Wednesday

• Southampton v Stoke

• Tottenham v Manchester City

• AFC Wimbledon/Newcastle v Chelsea

• Manchester United v Leicester

• Brighton v Liverpool

• Preston North End v Arsenal

• Aston Villa v Crystal Palace

See the full draw

Brentford have had a tough run of fixtures but have dug out two wins from their opening five games against Crystal Palace and Southampton.

They also led within the opening minute at both Manchester City and Spurs before ultimately losing out.

But when it comes to the Bees so far, what is the one thing you have spotted that nobody is talking about - good or bad?

Tell us here, external

Brentford and Fulham are interested in a January move for Newcastle's 32-year-old England striker Callum Wilson. (Sun), external

Before moving to Al-Ahli, former Brentford striker Ivan Toney was considered by Manchester United, but he did not fit the profile desired by manager Erik ten Hag. (ESPN), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

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Don’t arrive late for a Brentford game!

That must be the advice to Bees fans after we unbelievably scored after 22 seconds for the second successive Premier League match.

Unfortunately, as at Manchester City the previous Saturday, the goal counted for little as we ended up losing away to one of the big six clubs – but those goals certainly led to wild celebrations among the travelling support.

The 3-1 defeat at Tottenham was very different to the City game, in which we dominated the opening 25 minutes after scoring.

Spurs came right back at us and we became sloppy – passing straight to their players at least half a dozen times in the first half, with two of those errors leading directly to goals.

It did not help that the defence had no protection, with Christian Norgaard, who led the side against Leyton Orient in midweek, missing with a minor injury.

Without the captain’s presence, Spurs at times overran our midfield, so let’s hope Thomas Frank is right when he says he expects Norgaard to be fit to face West Ham this Saturday.

The effect of his absence also backs up my point from the other week about how we need to tie down Norgaard to a new contract as soon as possible.

We also had no focal point up front with the start of Yoane Wissa’s long injury absence, and it’s beginning to look a bit like last season.

According to a list on the Premier League website, we already have more players out injured at the moment (seven) than any other club in the division. Time for the youngsters to shine.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

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

Here are some of your comments:

Tottenham fans

Ben: Excellent result, which should silence the doubters for a week. Real fans understand this is a journey and they need to get behind Ange and the process. This could kick start our season!!

Doug: Played like the Spurs that started last season. They were so much more clinical, played with intensity, were dangerous going forward and closed down everything especially after losing the ball. This is the way we want to see Spurs play, much more confidence in the team and so chuffed for Solanke and Johnson after the abuse they got off some so called fans.

Micky: After a disastrous start we recovered well. We tackled hard and fair, passed quickly and forwards and seemed to have a better game plan. It was good to watch and was a good game with Brentford adding to the game by not sitting deep and attacking when they could. Johnson played well and scored a good goal, hopefully he will continue to improve.

Dan: Feels like a big three points, but I never doubted Ange in the first games either. We were dominating games, so wins were coming. We saw that today and there'll be more of that to come. Solanke is going to be a class striker. He's just warming up. Brennan Johnson is on fire too. Much to look forward to.

Brentford fans

Ian: Great start, then it seemed we did not know what to do as after that it was poor passing, a lack of attacks and again being defensively naive in my opinion.

Tim: Our lack of squad depth does for us once more. We huffed and puffed, but gave away sloppy goals when pressed. Did well to hang on to 2-1 at half time and looked better second half but needed a Jensen or a Norgaard to steady the midfield. Schade will get there, but seems low on confidence just now. Carvalho is a class above and Sepp van den Berg is great too.

Brandon: A bit unlucky overall, I think we deserved a point. The late Spurs goal was always a possibility when throwing everything forward looking for the equaliser. But we're already playing with an injury depleted squad and it's only match number five. With a tiny Premier League budget we can't buy the cover, so maybe the physio team need replacing?

Cliff: We have to be more than good losers. We gave the ball away far too often. Assists by Pinnock and Yarmolyuk for their first two goals; Maddison offside for the third. Put Ajer upfront in Toney's place and then we can benefit again from long balls.

Gary Lineker presents highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.

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

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester United

Sam Drury
BBC Sport journalist

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It doesn't get much tougher than away matches at Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham to start the season.

That is the hand Brentford were dealt and that they end that run without taking a point will not surprise many.

But after the match at Tottenham on Saturday, there will be a sense that they played a significant part in their own downfall.

Having taken the lead, Brentford were quickly put under huge pressure by Spurs.

It took only seven minutes for the equaliser to arrive but the frustration will be that they gifted it to their opponents with a loose pass when they had possession on the edge of their own penalty area.

Spurs were set up to jump on any errors but there was little pressure on Ethan Pinnock when he played the pass.

To make matters worse, they repeated the mistake for the second goal, albeit the stray pass came that much further from goal.

But again it left Thomas Frank's team exposed and Spurs punished them.

There may be no shame in defeat at Tottenham but there will certainly be irritation from Brentford at how much of a helping hand they gave Ange Postecoglou's side.

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Since the start of last season, Brentford have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Premier League (36), while only Manchester City (30) have won more points from behind than Tottenham (28).

Brentford boss Thomas Frank speaking to BBC Match of the Day after today's loss: "I'm very pleased with the performance, I think we did a lot of good things. We had four good chances to create the equalise before the goal from Maddison.

"We need to take those chances if we want to get something here, playing against a very good team who have performed well over the first four games. Today they probably raised their level a bit, plus they got the small margins and the momentum and then they are difficult to play against.

"We are playing against a team whose end stand is bigger than our stadium in terms of capacity. That shows the difference. No complaints.

"It's my job to put a competitive team out there but it doesn't help when we have five potential starters out."

On Guglielmo Vicario handling the ball outside the box: "It wasn't impacting the game. It wasn't a penalty, it wasn't a red card, it was just a free-kick outside the box which John [Brooks] should have seen. I think he refereed a very good game, that was just a small little thing. If you come here you need to get everything with us to maximise our chances in the game."

On the fast start: "Of course we train and practice the kick-off. That was a great goal."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Tottenham’s performance, external

What did you make of Brentford’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Follow reaction and read the match report

Eight matches make up Saturday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

All kick-off times BST

Follow all of the action and reaction here

BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries:

• Liverpool v Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace v Manchester United

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week five, he takes on singer-songwriter and West Ham fan James Smith whose debut album, Common People, is out now.

Tottenham host Brentford on Saturday at 15:00 BST.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou made changes for their Carabao Cup game against Coventry and, while they won and the end justified the means, you have got to say it looked pretty dicey for them when they trailed 1-0 after 88 minutes.

A lot has been made about Postecoglou talking about always winning a trophy in his second season, but I have heard what he said and it has been taken out of context. Now, no matter what he says about it, people are going to use it as a stick to beat him with.

This is a tricky game for Spurs and no-one is surprised anymore by the organisation we saw from Brentford against Manchester City last week, or how devastating they were when they got a chance early on.

But the Bees are without Yoane Wissa after his injury at Etihad Stadium, and he is a big miss for them.

My worry for Spurs at the moment is that, this season, they have not been as clinical or creative with the final pass when they get in the final third of the pitch as they have been previously under Ange.

They will have to be better at that here, but they are at home and I am backing them to get over the line.

James's prediction: 2-1

Brentford are a decent team but I still think Tottenham will find this much easier than they did against Arsenal last weekend. 2-1.

Read their full predictions and have your own say here

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Earlier, we asked you for the three players who have scored more than 20 goals in the Premier League for Brentford.

Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo are the trio - and are, in fact, the only three players to have reached double figures for the Bees in the competition.

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at Tottenham (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Frank said "when it rains it definitely pours" after confirmation of Yoane Wissa's ankle injury this week, but continued: "It is what it is. We need to deal with it. We think about what our strongest line-up is and how exciting that team is, but in reality most of time you miss one, two or three players. It is a big part of the head coach job to deal with that and find solutions."

• He added: "When you have eight first-team players out it seems like it keeps continuing. They are quite unlucky injuries. It is not because we have trained players too hard or haven’t made them strong enough. Of those eight players, maybe five would be starting, so it is big praise to players that are playing and the staff that we can still compete."

• On the pressure on Bryan Mbeumo: "He thrives on that responsibility. He was the penalty taker last year when [Ivan] Toney wasn’t playing. He is the set-piece taker. He is the goalscorer and assist maker so there is a bit of responsibility on his shoulders."

• On Kevin Shade stepping into the side: "Kevin is in a really good place. We have played six games and he has started four and come on in all six. He is getting better and better after a big injury last year. He is getting in good positions and has been a bit unlucky with goals. I'm pleased with his progress but I think he can still do more."

• The Brentford boss said "it is always nice to receive praise, especially praise from persons who know what they are talking about" after Pep Guardiola called him "one of the best", but added: "You just need to keep working hard, keep doing what I'm doing, helping the team and staff as we do it as a team."

• On the challenge they face at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: "I have a fantastic group of players. We believe in ourselves. We respect every opponent. Ange [Postecoglou] is a fantastic coach. They are big favourites to beat us but, that said, we still think we can do something and that is the beauty of it. That is the starting point of every game - believing you can win it."

• He added: "If we want to beat Tottenham we need to be on our A game, our top game, and they probably need to be a little bit off their game. We know if we drop our concentration slightly, we will be in trouble."

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

Can you name the three players who have scored more than 20 Premier League goals for Brentford?

Answer will be revealed at 17:00 BST

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The team to score first have failed to win the past four Premier League meetings between Tottenham and Brentford (D2 L2), with Spurs coming from behind to win this fixture 3-2 last season.

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The issue around the footballing calendar and the demands being placed on players right now is a difficult one.

First, we need to take into consideration the really high demands on the body that go on all-year round with few breaks, especially for international footballers and those in teams competing on multiple fronts.

I know the men's and the women's games are different, but we got exposed to these issues when we went from amateur to professional. There was a lot of loading, a lot of games and the result of that was a higher risk of injury and we have seen a lot of anterior cruciate ligament injuries now in the women's game.

From the fans' side, their point is often that players get paid a lot of money but I think that is irrelevant. That is just the industry players are in and, if you take out the money, they are still human beings.

The governing bodies need to look at who they consult with about changes in the calendar such as World Cups being held in winter and summers where there is just a couple of weeks off before going straight back into it. The changes and fixtures that are put in are there to generate more money, which makes it difficult. As a business, it is about money.

We talk about mental health a lot and you wonder, where is the time to switch off and have that time away from playing? To have that family time which is a deep human need? At some point mentally, if not physically, it will take its toll.

None of us want to see players striking, but players need to be listened to. What do they need to do to make change happen?

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Newcastle are monitoring 18-year-old Norwegian forward Sindre Walle Egeli, dubbed the next Erling Haaland, with West Ham, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Brentford also interested in the £25m-rated teenager. (Daily Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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When a player gets ruled out for a lengthy period of time, the impact can be different depending on what club you are.

When you look at Manchester City last season when Kevin de Bruyne was ruled out for a lengthy period, their squad depth is so great they could have the likes of Phil Foden step up and still play at the high level. When you are at a smaller club it can be so different.

It is not that you are reliant on those players, but Yoane Wissa has become key to Brentford with his goals and what he does in that position. He is definitely going to be someone that they will miss and it is something that will just shock the team around him a little bit.

When Ivan Toney was out for a period of time they had a little bit of a blip. They missed that key figure within the team and I think it could be the same after seeing what impact Wissa has had since Toney left. It will be difficult for them but, what we can say about Brentford under Thomas Frank, is they are a well coached team and a well drilled team.

From my experience as a player when I was at Reading, if myself or one of our key players was injured, it definitely disrupts the team but because you are well drilled and so well organised, you do have other players that can slip into the system and have an understanding of that.

For the player who does come in, maybe Bryan Mbeumo in this case, you don’t compare them to the player who is out and it takes the pressure off them a little bit. He is a different kind of forward, but one you know that if given opportunities he can score goals.

Because Frank as a coach is adaptable - he's a very knowledgeable manager, very good manager in terms of how he coaches - that will help and now it's about finding somebody that fits what they have already adapted to this season.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson