Brentford vs Bournemouth Prediction & Betting Tips (27 December)

10th in the last financial year across the Channel, Brentford finds itself once again in the soft underbelly of the Premier League, in 12th position, already with a good lead of 10 points on the relegation zone. Consequently, the Londoners can perhaps start to look upwards since they are only 6 lengths behind the big 4 before the start of this 18th day. A little less well in recent weeks, the Bees were beaten by Arsenal 2-0 and by Tottenham 2-0 before taking a point against Leeds 1-1. Subsequently, Keith Andrews' men had to surrender against City in the quarter-finals of the League Cup but they got back on track by dominating bottom side Wolverhampton 0-2 last weekend.

For their part, Bournemouth followed in the footsteps of their opponent of the day, in 14th position, with only one small point behind their host before kick-off. Authors of a solid start to the season, the Cherries have on the other hand severely marked time for many weeks and they went on to an 8th meeting without the slightest victory last week against Burnley 1-1. This sharing of points was the 3rd in a row for Amine Adli's partners who had already been held to a draw previously by Manchester United 4-4 and by Chelsea 0-0. 

The Bees will approach this part without substitutes Milambo and Dasilva as well as midfielder Fabio Carvalho (1 goal in PL) who are still recovering. To this we add that the Nigerian midfielder Onyeka and the important Burkinabé winger Ouattara have left to join their selection to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations. Too tight to set foot on the pitch last week, midfielder Henderson should be fit again in the same way as replacement winger Nelson. At the forefront, scorer Igor Thiago had a particularly convincing season with 11 goals scored, far ahead of his partners Shade (3 goals) and Ouattara (3 goals). On the Cherries side, replacements Milosaljevic (defender) and Doak (winger) as well as the potentially starting midfielder Christie are all stuck in the infirmary along with the important midfielder Adams. Otherwise, everyone is available for this team.

On the offensive level, the interesting Tavernier (4 goals and 2 assists in PL), Semenyo (8 goals and 3 assists in PL) and Evanilson (2 goals in PL) should all claim a starting place. Former Lorient player Kroupi (5 goals in PL) displays good statistics but most often has to be content with a substitute role. Probable lineups for Brentford - Bournemouth: Brentford: Kelleher - Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Hickey - Henderson, Yarmolyuk - Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Schade - Igor Thiago. Bournemouth: Petrovic - Jimenez, Diakité, Senesi, Truffert - Scott, Tavernier - Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo - Evanilson.