The Football Faithful
·18 de dezembro de 2024
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Yahoo sportsThe Football Faithful
·18 de dezembro de 2024
Newcastle host Brentford tonight with a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals up for grabs.
The Magpies enter the contest with a renewed sense of belief after they thrashed Leicester City 4-0 at St. James’ Park.
Newcastle’s Sven Botman made a huge step in his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury on Monday night.
The Dutch defender played an hour for the U21 side against Chelsea in what was his first competitive minutes in nine months.
Nick Pope will likely miss the festive period with minor knee ligament damage while Callum Wilson and Emil Krafth face lengthy spells on the sidelines.
Brentford’s poor away form continued at the weekend after they fell to a 2-1 defeat to West London neighbours Chelsea. Mathias Jensen remains out for Brentford but Rico Henry is nearing a return following his ACL injury.
Newcastle: LDDLW
It has been an underwhelming campaign for the Magpies who have struggled for consistency all campaign.
Terrific wins over Spurs, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest have been marred by losses to West Ham and tonight’s opponents Brentford.
Nevertheless, they have already knocked out two Premier League opponents on their route to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
A penalty shootout victory in the second round at Nottingham Forest was trumped by an accomplished display to beat high-flying Chelsea in the last round.
That win, coupled with a 4-0 dismantling of Leicester at the weekend, will provide Eddie Howe with the confidence that they can go far in this competition.
Brentford: DWLWL
Thomas Frank will be hoping that his side’s disastrous away form in the Premier League doesn’t impact their result tonight as they face Newcastle at St James’ Park.
No side in the Premier League has taken less point on the road, with the Bees losing seven and drawing one of their eight away games this season. It’s a stark contrast to their home results with Brentford having the best record in the division, having taken 22 points from 24 available.
They narrowly lost away to Chelsea at the weekend but have already beaten Newcastle this season, albeit at home.
The two teams last met earlier this month and Brentford conquered Newcastle at the Gtech Community Stadium.
It was a chaotic beginning to the encounter as Bryan Mbeumo danced around the Newcastle defence before scoring a stunner in the eighth minute.
However, Mbeumo’s hard work was undone by Alexander Isak who equalised three minutes later.
Yoane Wissa then put the Bees back in front as Brentford punished a loose pass from Harvey Barnes.
But Newcastle were determined for parity and four minutes later they levelled matters again. Barnes atoned for his error and the winger did brilliantly to place an effort into the bottom corner past Mark Flekken.
After the interval, the hosts put themselves back in control through Nathan Collins.
Brentford goalkeeper Flekken recorded the assist as it was his inconspicuous free-kick that evaded everyone but Collins who finished past Nick Pope. Thomas Frank’s team sealed the victory in the closing stages as Kevin Schade delicately dinked the ball over Pope.
Newcastle: Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Barnes, Isak, Gordon.
Brentford: Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Mee, Van den Berg; Norgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Schade.
Who is the referee?
Sam Barrott will be the match official. He will be assisted by Timothy Wood and Wade Smith while James Bell will be the fourth official. VAR will not be in operation.
Newcastle vs Brentford will be available to watch on Sky Sports+.
Kick-off at St. James’ Park will be at 19:45 GMT on Wednesday 18th December 2024.
Newcastle – 4/7
Draw – 10/3
Brentford – 17/4