Brentford finally has another chance to get promoted to Premier League next season after last year’s failure to beat Fulham via play off. Now, another play off final is ahead of them and Thomas Frank’s man will be taking on Swansea this weekend on Wembley stadium. Swansea has been eyeing for their return to the top flight since 2018.
The teams’ previous games
The Bees dramatically overturned their disadvantage at the first leg and made a superb comeback against Bournemouth last weekend. They already conceded quite early as Arnaut Groeneveld gave the Cherries a lead for two-goal aggregate. Nevertheless, they did not give up and finally manage to equalise through Ivan Toney’s penalty. At the second half, Brentford’s turn came to lead by Vitaly Janet’s and Marcus Forss’s goal. They eventually progressed to the final by 3-2 aggregate.
The Swans managed to hold the line to keep their advantage from the first leg when they were able to thump Barnsley in the reverse fixture. Here at their home turf, Steve Cooper’s men opened the scoring as Matt Grimes’ long shot found the back of the net. Fortunately, Barnsley only replied once by Cauley Woodrow
Possible tactic
The Danish boss, Thomas Frank, is likely to stick to his 3-4-1-2 formation. Their top scorer Ivan Toney shall be leading the attack accompanied by Bryan Mbuemo upfront. They will gain support from Emiliano Marcondes who shall occupy the playmaker role.
Meanwhile, Steve Cooper might opt for 4-3-3 again here to make early and quick sounter attack. The Ghanaian international, Andre Ayew will be playing wide alongside Jamal Lowe and Wayne Rooutledge as the front three forwads.
Players to watch
Brentford is still counting on their Danish connection led by Thomas Frank himself. There are seven Danes in the squad and four of whom are the key figures. They are Emiliano Marcondes, Mads Sorensen, Henrik Dalsgaard and Mathias Jensen. Some other notable names to watch are the two frontmen, Ivan Toney who has bagged 32 goals and provided 10 assists plus Bryan Mbuemo with eight goals and 10 assists so far this season.
Swansea’s top performers this season are the young defender Ben Cabango who has managed to score four times and provided three assists, the top scorer Andre Ayew with 17 goals and four assists, Jamal Lowe who has netted fourteen goals and Aston Villa’s loanee, Conor Hourihane.
Brentford vs Swansea Prediction
Ivan Toney and Co would not waste the opportunity to go up now and they have been quite in a positive trend. This west London-based team has more convincing form and mentality than The Swans which could help them secure the last place to Premier League.
Betting odds
This encounter is bound to be quite even. The Bees are backed to win at 15/16, whereas Steve Cooper’s side win market is at 39/10. The odds for the draw result is at 5/2.
