Brentford v Brighton: Attack the attractive goal line

Brentford punished at Newcastle

Brentford were on the wrong end of a 5-1 thrashing at Newcastle last weekend as the Bees were punished for a spate of defensive disasters.

Two goals in the space of seven first-half minutes put the Toon in command; Ivan Toney's penalty nine minutes into the second half pulled one back but the hosts regained control immediately and completed the rout late on.

The capital club last won at Newcastle 88 years ago, and aside from a VAR-crushed moment early on, never looked likely to end that sequence. And Thomas Frank was bitterly disappointed with his team's performance, particularly after garnering the club's first clean sheet in 20 Premier League away fixtures just seven days earlier.

Speaking post-match, Frank said: "In general I never thought we would concede five goals, we did today. If you want to win football matches it is important you don't make one, two, three, or four mistakes leading to goals. To make four, you lose football games. We are of course fuming. I can feel my anger bursting around inside me. It is the same as the players."

Pontus Jansson is thought to be close to a return to action on Friday and may make the Brentford squad but Christian Norgaard and Keane Lewis-Potter remain sidelined for the hosts, who are expected to shuffle their pack after the disaster on Tyneside.

De Zerbi pleased despite Brighton defeat

New Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi felt the 1-0 loss against Tottenham in his first home outing as Seagulls supremo last weekend was harsh.

Harry Kane's first-half header was enough to give Spurs a hard-fought victory at The Amex as Albion started slowly but grew into the game and had chances to equalise through Lewis Dunk and Danny Welbeck.

Despite the defeat, De Zerbi said he was encouraged by how his side performed, saying, "We have played a fantastic game. The result is not fair, 100%. Football is not right and today the result is not good for us. After the first 15 minutes it was only Brighton. If you play in this style, with this courage, the result will arrive, and I want to aim high with this team."

Brighton's preparation has been marred by the desperately disappointing news that midfielder Enock Mwepu has been forced to retire at the age of 24 because of a hereditary heart condition.

Mwepu had recently fallen ill on a trip with the Zambia national team and was unable to train after arriving in Mali last month, spending four days in hospital.

The club said Mwepu would be at an "extremely high risk of suffering a potentially fatal cardiac event" if he continued playing and that the "only option" was for him to retire.

Bees outsiders at home

Brentford haven't enjoyed recent home meetings with Brighton as the Bees have bagged a solitary success in their last six head-to-heads here in London (W1-D3-L2) as that victory arriving back in September 2014.

The Seasiders completed the league double over Brentford last season without conceding a goal, including a 1-0 triumph here last September.

Brentford 3.2011/5 suffered their biggest-ever Premier League defeat last time out against Newcastle but the Bees have not lost consecutive league matches since February.

Expected Points (xP) rankings have Thomas Frank's team in seventh thus far, although the hosts have tended to find the going tough when welcoming top-half opposition (W3-D2-L6).

Brighton's 2.466/4 reverse to Tottenham was just the Seagulls' second in 13 Premier League outings (W7-D4-L2) with the visitors avoiding successive losses since March last season.

Alboin are third in the xP ratings this term and also boast a wonderful road record going back to the beginning of 2021/22 with the visitors returning W9-D9-L5 on their travels.

Get with the goals

Over 2.5 Goals is trading at an appealing 2.0421/20. The Premier League is averaging 3.08 goals per-game with 60% of fixtures featuring at minimum of three strikes; Brentford's nine outings have seen a total of 33 goals - the joint-third highest in the division - with the Bees notching in all bar two of their tussles and managing to silence just two opposition outfits.

Brighton have scored in 19 of their past 23 away Premier League contests and new head coach Roberto De Zerbi is insistent on Albion's evolution towards a more forward-thinking and proactive approach.

Regardless, the Seagulls have failed to score only twice this season and have already seen three of their four away days produce Over 2.5 Goals profit.

I'm happy to support Over 2.5 Goals at the aforementioned 2.0421/20 quotes but punters looking for something a bit more meaty can head to the Bet Builder where Over 2.5 Goals, Brighton Double Chance and Ivan Toney to Score or Assist can be snapped up at an appetising 6.23523/100. Toney has scored or assisted half of the Bees' 16 league goals thus far.

BTTS on the Betfair Exchange

Friday night's Premier League encounter in London brings another offer from the Betfair Exchange.

You can back BTTS between Brentford and Brighton, and should either side fail to net, you can get your money back as a free bet.

Each of the last three of these promo offers have landed, including "BTTS - No" between Chelsea and Wolves last week, and "Over 2.5 Goals" at Ibrox on Wednesday evening.

Looking at the two teams, BTTS has landed in six of Brentford's nine Premier League matches this season, and in 75% of Brighton's away matches (3/4).

Indeed, the home side's league games have produced 33 goals so far (F16 A17), the third most in the division, whilst they've only managed two clean sheets in this time. Bet below!