The Daly Brief | Brentford vs Spurs, Premier League | OneFootball

"Less than four weeks on from their previous meeting, Spurs face Brentford again. What was learnt from that 2-0 win, how have the Bees got on since and why is their attack so threatening right now?"

Rob Daly, official club commentator, presenter and pundit

Brentford's new-look front line...

Brentford have won back-to-back games – including the 4-1 dismantling of Bournemouth, that featured some breathtaking attacking play between two forwards who’ve stepped up this season, following Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo’s departures. Striker Igor Thiago kept breaking in behind or brushing off Bournemouth defenders with his back to goal, to run deep into enemy territory before shooting or picking out a team-mate. His link-up with Kevin Schade was extremely impressive, with Thiago playing the rapid winger in behind time and time again, as he ended the game with a hat-trick. Thomas Frank will want his team to stifle any attempts to counter, as they did successfully at the weekend. “One of Crystal Palace's major strengths is transitions, and we really closed them down, something we worked very, very hard on, big discipline in the team and we need to do that."

Lining up in attack...

However, it’s not certain that Brentford’s main striker starts the game. “Thiago had a bit of an issue, but nothing to do with his injury (that kept him out) last season at all," said Keith Andrews in his pre-match press conference. “This time of the year, you pick up bits and bobs, games are coming quite frequently and we are still a couple of days out, but we will see how everybody is (on Wednesday) before we make any concrete decisions." Since Dango Ouattara headed to AFCON, Keane Lewis-Potter has started in the front three and he struck twice in the December 20th victory at Wolves (2-0). All of their forwards are sharp on turnovers too; aware a midfielder may play the ball in behind the opposition as soon as they’ve won it back. Cristian Romero, should he come back in after suspension, will have to be amongst a Spurs backline on its toes.

Managing man-to-man marking...

Brentford’s man-to-man marking was aggressive in their 2-0 loss to Spurs in early December, as markers followed players all over the pitch, something that was expertly exploited by Xavi Simons. Twice the Spurs number seven dragged centre-back Sepp van den Berg out of position by dropping deep, before spinning away from him to cause chaos – supplying Richarlison for a goal and scoring one himself. However, his suspension leaves a gap to fill – while Lucas Bergvall, who played as the most advanced Spurs’ midfielder at Palace, went off in that game. Thomas Frank said he should be okay – Archie Gray, the Selhurst Park matchwinner, also impressed during his stint in the second half in a more advanced role.

26 days later?

Regardless of the recent meeting, Spurs’ head coach believes this game will play differently – as he also returns to the Gtech for the first time since leaving. “I don't think I have thought that much about a game where it's coming back to me and I'm actually happy that I have those emotions, because that means it meant something to me,”  he explained, before adding that he has 'one aim, that I want to win the football match ahead of me, together with the team'. So what decisions are to be made, in pursuit of a win? As mentioned above, Romero looks to come back from his ban – while Wilson Odobert’s impressive cameo at Palace could earn him a start, having struck the post too, after good link-up with the impressive Richarlison. Joao Palhinha will be in contention too, having come on to disrupt Palace’s midfield on Sunday effectively as Spurs looked to preserve the lead.

Last time at the Gtech...