Will Tottenham start the season well?
From this weekend on the ball is rolling again on the island. After 75 days of summer break, the Premier League starts the new season. Two teams that were on a par last season meet on the first matchday. The best bookmakers are predicting a close game between Brentford and Tottenham, with the visitors having slight advantages. However, Spurs did not manage a treble against the Bees last season.
Neither team is among the big title favourites this year. Manchester City is clearly ahead in the bettors’ favour here. The Gunners and Liverpool are considered to have the best chances as outsiders.
Last season, the home side finished just behind the Lilywhites in a safe mid-table position, which will be their goal again in their third year in the top English division. The red-white-blacks go into Sunday’s clash as slight underdogs. Between Brentford and Tottenham, betting on the hosts is rewarded with odds of 2.90 at the top.
For the Blue and Whites, a lot is currently revolving around the person of Harry Kane. It is now certain that the captain will move to FC Bayern. However, those responsible were not satisfied with the results of the last season. This season, they want to achieve at least an international starting position again. In order to achieve this goal, President Daniel Levy spent a few pounds sterling and expanded the squad. We’ll find out how the start to the Premier League goes on Sunday from 15:00 when kick-off is at Brentford Community Stadium.
Brentford – Statistics & current form
After languishing in the lower leagues for decades, Brentford FC made the leap to England’s top flight in 2021. Here, the Bees quickly established themselves in the secure midfield and last year even slightly scratched the starting places for international competition.
After 38 match days, the Bees had 15 wins and 14 draws. The total of 59 points meant ninth place in the standings. Throughout the season, the hosts stayed clear of the bottom of the table. They were only two points short of a place in the Conference League.
No major squad changes at Brentford
As things stand, the home side go into the new season with a largely unchanged squad. The Spurs are therefore likely to meet a well-rehearsed team. There is also no new face on the coaching bench. Dane Thomas Frank has been at the helm of the red-white-black team since 2018.
Last season, the hosts were the draw kings of the Premier League. No other team shared the points more often than the Bees. The record at the home Brentford Community Stadium is also impressive. Only two games were lost on home soil last season. Oddsmakers are expecting a close game and are paying odds of 2.90 for bets on the home side in the Brentford vs Tottenham match.
Which Bee replaces Toney?
The home side will sorely miss their most prolific striker of last season. Ivan Toney was handed an eight-month ban after a number of betting offences and will not play for his team again until January.
The Bees’ strength last year was their solid defence. Keeper David Raya was only caught 46 times. Whether he will be on the pitch on Sunday, however, is rather uncertain. In the last test against Lille, goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who transferred to Brentford from SC Freiburg, was in the box for 90 minutes. It is not unlikely that the same will happen in the opening match.
The Bees were not convincing in the preparation matches. The hosts drew three points from five matches and lost to their league rivals Brighton and Fulham.
Predicted Brentford line-up:
Brentford (Expected line-up) 4-3-3
Tottenham – Statistics & current form
Tottenham Hotspurs, along with Chelsea FC, were perhaps the Premier League’s biggest disappointments last season. Both top clubs failed to make it to the international stage and languished in mid-table. To change that this year, the Blue and Whites invested a few euros this summer.
Last season, they finished in eighth place, which was not enough to qualify for the international stage. Aston Villa finished seventh, just one point ahead. The 14 defeats were simply too many for Tottenham. Only once in the last 14 years have the Lilywhites picked up fewer points than in the season just ended.
Without Kane for first win?
Ahead of the upcoming matchday, a personnel issue is moving all football fans. However, the Harry Kane case is now drawing to a close. In the meantime, the transfer to FC Bayern is virtually fixed and Kane will no longer be in the London squad at the weekend.
The preparation of the guests, meanwhile, was mixed. A 2:3 defeat against the Hammers was followed by victories over Lion City (5:1) and Shakhtar Donetsk (5:1). Finally, there was a 4-2 defeat against Barca, in which Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou also spared some of his stars.
Spurs with long winless streak away from home
Last year, Spurs competed in the Champions League and reached the last 16. Here they were eliminated by AC Milan with a narrow 0:1 away defeat. The Lilywhites had particular problems on their opponents’ pitch. The visitors have been waiting for a successful result for the last few compulsory matches away from home.
To conclude, let’s take a look at Tottenham Hotspurs’ goal difference from last season. The strength was clearly in the forward play and 70 goals scored meant fifth best league wide. The problems were in defence 63 goals conceded equated to 15th place in that record
Predicted Tottenham line-up:
Tottenham (Expected line-up) 4-3-3
Brentford – Tottenham Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
The two teams have met a total of nine times so far. The matches are divided into four Premier League games and five League Cup duels. In the league, the overall balance is even so far: Each team has one win to its credit and twice the points have been shared. For the season opener, the bookmakers see slight advantages for the visitors in their predictions for the match between Brentford and Tottenham.
However, they have not managed a success against the Bees in the last three comparisons. Last season, Spurs lost 3-1 at home and could not manage more than a 2-2 draw at the Brentford Community Stadium. In three of the four games at Brentford, the teams parted with a draw.
Brentford – Tottenham Tip
Finally the season starts again in the first big European leagues. In the Premier League we are eagerly waiting to see who will stand up to the top favourite from Manchester. Spurs definitely want to do better than last year. The supporters of the blue and white team have the ambition to be part of the international team. But for that to happen, the defence has to be better than it was last season.
The home side established itself in the midfield of the league in the last two years. It is not to be expected that they will achieve more this year. The Bees have so far refrained from making spectacular new signings and are relying on a well-established team. The hosts did not manage a single win in preparation for the tournament.
We see the visitors in a much better position in terms of personnel, regardless of what happens with Kane. With Maddison and Kulusevski, especially in the offensive, they have stepped it up a notch. Porro and Mickey van de Ven should help the defence to become more stable. Therefore, our recommendation for the match Brentford vs. Tottenham is an away win, which we hedge with a DrawNoBet. The odds for this are 1.72 at the top.
The preparation games tend to point to a high-scoring match, so that alternatively in the duel between Brentford and Tottenham, at betting odds of 1.73, the bet on a match with at least three goals is a good choice.