We haven’t managed back-to-back Premier League wins yet and that’s mostly because we’re cack away from home.
There’s been some misfortune and VAR calamity mixed in but we’re too open defensively to give ourselves the chance of collecting results.
I don’t know if the lads are not quite as vigorous in the press, not quite so sure of their positioning or just lacking the courage to impose themselves – but whatever the cause, it’s creating a glass ceiling to the top half of the table.
Four wins and three draws from our last seven at home – against some formidable opposition too – is a sensational return and shows this team can hurt anyone when they play to their maximum.
Brentford
I was just looking at the players missing or potentially missing for this one. It’s nearly all of the individuals I’d name if you asked me to list Brentford players – Ivan Toney (obviously), Bryan Mbeumo, Ben Mee, Kristoffer Ajer, Aaron Hickey, Rico Henry, Kevin Schade, Frank Onyeka and Josh Dasilva.
That long and influential list of absentees must be giving Thomas Frank some sleepless nights, particularly as they come into this game on a run of three consecutive – albeit narrow – defeats.
They should be fresh tomorrow because they didn’t have a game pre-Christmas with their match against Man City postponed due to the champions playing in the Club World Cup.
There’s no doubt they’ll look at our soft-centered away form and smell an opportunity to win by keeping things tight and exploiting us through set pieces and percentage football – I know I would.
Nathan Collins – having just come back from injury himself – is likely to play and will feel he has a point to prove. I’ve seen plenty of good and bad in his Brentford performances, which fits with the idea he’s a decent but inconsistent performer.
Wolves
Gary O’Neil was right that we did well to get that win against Chelsea with nearly every fit and available senior player having to contribute.
The bench was looking thin and you’d have thought with the quick turnaround the head coach might want to rotate a few players, so he’ll hope the likes of Bellegarde and Traore are back to swell the ranks.
Craig Dawson going off was a blow and I don’t think our defence would have parted like the Red Sea to allow Nkunku that free header had he still been on the pitch. Gary said there’s a chance he could play tomorrow and I hope he does given the likely bombardment we’ll be facing.
Pedro, Pedro, wherefore art thou Pedro? I don’t want to be too hard on Sarabia and Bellegarde who’ve done plenty of good things in his absence, but Neto’s energy and pace across that front three would be just the ticket. I hoped he’d get minutes against Chelsea with a view to a more substantial role tomorrow but fingers crossed he’s at least among the subs this time.
Predictions
Well done to The Witley Wanderer, Aquilador, CHEESEBURGER OF DEATH, Dek, Woodend wolf, Marney, Dallas Bob, Steppenwolfe, Marin Wolf, BigNachos, Rich, Happy Claptrap, Steady Eddie, Liz, DeptfordWolf, CanadaWolf and West Parkian for all making it onto the good list by correctly predicting the 2-1 win against Chelsea.
I’m backing us to win tomorrow. It’ll probably be a slog and I’m anticipating another frustrating watch, but we have enough about us going forward – if we can offer more robust resistance than we’ve shown on our travels lately – to go there and win against a depleted Brentford side. 3-1.
As always, if you’d like to join in with the Prediction League this season, it’s simple – just leave your prediction in the comment section below using the boxes provided. Then repeat for every preview article throughout the season, making sure you always use the same email address to make your prediction. Your email is what ties you to your overall score.
Up The Wolves!
I’m pulling for a 2-1 win!!
Hopefully the good work at beating Chelsea will carry on and another 3 points on the board.
There’s a buzz around Molineux nowadays, where only the most hard headed supporters continue to deny what is obvious to everyone else in and out of the club.
GON is doing a brilliant job.
Away to the bees, who are sat just 3 points below us in 14th with a game in hand. A win for them would see them leapfrog us with superior goal difference.
Head to head :-
Having met in the Premier League just 4 times, we have won 2, drawn 1 and lost 1.
The last game was a 2-0 win at home. Before that a 1-1 draw away.
Brentford have done incredibly well to cement their position as a Premier League team, finishing a superb 9th last season. Founded in 1889, they were promoted to the Premier League after winning the play off final in 2021, the first time they had reached the top division since 1946/47.
Thomas Frank will be hoping to break their run of 3 straight losses against Villa, Sheffield Utd and Brighton. They haven’t played since 17th December so should be fresh.
Bee’s Defender Ben Mee will be suspended having picked up a red card in their 2-1 loss to Unai Emery’s side. It was a bad tempered game with 2 reds, and a yellow for Frank.
I think it unlikely that Neto will start tomorrow. Far more likely he will be named as a substitute. GON will do everything possible to ease our star player back very carefully.
Ait Nourhi is likely to start and, providing the squad have shaken off the illness that swept through the team, it will be interesting to see whether a Bellegarde starts. Kalajdzic and Silva may well return to the bench. The main injury concern will be Dawson, who sustained a nasty cut after making a last ditch tackle in our win against Chelsea. However, GON seemed optimistic about his condition. He’s a vital part of our defence.
Brentford are physical and committed and will almost certainly start quickly. We managed to keep a clean sheet against Chelsea until stoppage time at the end of the game, breaking our habit of giving ourselves an uphill battle.
It’s vital we don’t concede early against Brentford, and the sluggish starts that we seem to have formed into an unwanted habit, is consigned to history. Another 3 points would help us close the gap to the top half of the table and stand us in good stead for a difficult home game against a revitalised Everton. They’ve been impressive of late, having picked up 12 out of 15 points this month.
But, one game at a time. Let’s see if we can draw the sting from the bees and enjoy a sweet victory.
Seasons greetings all!!
UTW
We also have Brentford to thank for Peter Broadbent,
They’ll score in the 4th minute. We’ll score in the 78th. But the final result will come down to VAR. which means we’ll lose…
Hope we’re both wrong mate.
C’mon boys prove us wrong!
Predicting a win (but I’d settle for a draw given the inconsistent away performances). I’ll ask for my usual from the team: discipline, positive play, and concentration.
Hi Thomas – any update on fixing the prediction table ? (Sorry if I’ve missed something)
Two mid table sides which I think will cancel each other out. One thing Gary has done is he’s got us scoring goals. We don’t always create many chances but we seem to find the net at least once a game. A draw down there would be a decent enough result after beating Chelsea so I’ll go for 1 1. Hwang to score
Hopefully get the points here
Just have to capitalise on the 1 big mistake Collins makes every game.
Defo a game we can win and will win.
Or two 🙂
Suspect it will be a draw,
But hope we can sneak it.
Would love another win, but this may be tougher than it seems.
I’m backing the lads 2-1 for this which may be bad news for us, but, still, I’ve got to get it correct sometime. We need to turn our away form around with the results the lower teams are now achieving… ?
I’d be very surprised if ‘daws’ is fit enough tomorrow seeing as he needed stitches above his knee on Sunday.
Would be great to get back to backs for the 1st time this season – perfectly achievable.
We have been under achieving away from home for a while; however, with the bees injuries, what better time to turn it around.
Can we beat a threadbare Brentford team with our generally abysmal away form.
going for an all too optimistic away win. Has to come soon surely.
Fingers crossed for another narrow, nervy win.
We’ve not done well away from the Mol this season but after Sunday’s error strewn though gritty defeat of Chelsea, our heroes confidence must be on a high.
Brentford have worked miracles in recent seasons and are definitely a force despite their grim injury list. However, we displayed a togetherness and determination against Chelsea which would give us a healthy shot against anyone.
3 points in this would be just the ticket.
I know we have to eventually draw a line but watching Nuno and his staff in the forest dugout makes my stomach churn and thats not good considering how much ive eaten the last two days !
I was watching ‘Help! My house is haunted ‘ the other night. Some poor woman rigged up a camera in her bedroom. At 3.07am the wardrobe door opened by itself and a hideous spectre appeared on camera. A terrible sight. It looked like Brentford boss Thomas Frank. Spookily enough it was also chewing gum at 278 mph. It then beckoned the poor woman to dive off her bed and appeal for a penalty. She screamed and ran off. Weirdly her TV screen switched itself on and VAR reviewed the haunting. And awarded a penalty to the Thomas Frank spectre. Luckily a passing Priest heard the commotion and exorcised the hideous Frank apparition to the planet Neptune. With Frank and his atrocious demonic being packed off out the way it leaves WWFC to help themselves to a 2-0 victory. Hwang and Mario getting the goals. After the game Gaz said ” I remember a similar demonic experience when my car accidentally broke down in West Bromwich high street. I looked out of the window and it was something like Michael Jackson’s Thriller out there “. Thomas Frank said ” I often appear as a demonic apparition in people’s wardrobes. Today was no different. I am misunderstood and certainly don’t deserve a priest exorcising me to fuckin Neptune” BEES 0 WWFC 2.
Hilarious post! Thanks for making me laugh on Boxing Day!
Thanks chap. I was on 7 pints of Amstel when I posted that. Probably explains the lunacy!
Don’t blame the Amstel Cheesey. You don’t need alcohol to consult the psychic slug. Or some such.
Don’t we always tie Brentford? Can’t see us picking up the maximum 3 away from home yet. Players will be tired with only two full days of rest as well. Poor scheduling.
I’m going for a rather grim 1-0 win but would be happy with a draw, given that we played 2 days ago.
They will be throwing themselves out of the windows in Sutton Coldfield tonight…??????
I can’t see Dawson and Neto being risked and the whole squad were exhausted after the monumental effort against Chelsea two days ago.
Tiredness should not be an issue for Brentford and I can see us being overwhelmed in the second half. I can never predict a loss, however, and with the confidence a win brings, we might shade it. Hwang brace to secure the points.
Christmas double
What can go wrong ,a well earned win against Chelsea and next up a severely depleted brentford side, and our recent bad run was due to me ditching sky ,and was ended when I prostituted myself back ,these are all omens that cannot be ignored
With their extra long rest the Nylons will have risked a few Christmas drinks and as a consequence will perform as though b LADDERED! How can we therefore lose? But can we win away? In the balance for me.
Happy New Year everyone!
Happiness and Health to all in 2024!
Seems winnable, but away wins are tough to come by.
Gonna be a draw.
Chelsea was the kind of game we’ve won this season. This is exactly the kind of game we have lost. We’ve been too soft centred away – and have generally been poor away now for a season and a half at least – and I can easily see us being bullied at Brentford. Let’s hope I’m wrong.
We are on a roll boys… another three points for us.
I seem to be picking up prediction points for 2-1 wins, so far Chelsea, Tottenham and Bournemouth, so I’m predicting another 2-1 win at Brentford Nylons.
Difficult game to predict! We are playing away from home, and Brentford are full of injuries but should be fresh! This should be a draw, but we shall see as maybe the GON factor may just make the difference.
Back 5 please and a late appearance from Pedro.
Let us go into the New Year on an absolute high!
Hoping Dawson is back and we DO play back 5. Going for a draw, and just to be different – going for a 2-2 result.
Another close run thing down in Brentford I’m thinking. But I think they’ll be a tough challenge for us.
Sick and exhausted players does not bode well for a result however it is Xmas so
I predict a draw. I was so happy to be wrong last time
Predicting away games is tough. This might be a tight affair with fatigue a factor.
Given my recent form I’m going for a tight loss which should help to towards the contrary.
Hopping from one foot to the other as I Write
My sister coming to London for lunch with two tickets from the Man AKA Lord Twix!!
Linda and I will take my son in law who’s a delusional Bees fan
Lots of pub options to start from
May try One Over The Ait…?
Hopefully we will bump
Into traveling fans full
Of Christmas cheer and hoping for three more points from Santa tonight
Yes please lads as I can’t stand being below Bournemouth
Meantime I’m thinking wanderers will be bit leggy and this may not be comfortable
So come on GON let’s see the giraffe start and nick one from a set piece.. then hang on like grim death
Back off to West Coast tomorrow … still wearing our scarves on the plane
Will
Return in May!!
By then maybe 10th and looking down on Palace fellow bloggers
Who knows?
COYW
Linda’s ‘Wolves ay we still sounding a bit French but still time for coaching by then
We’re overdue a Var debacle and we’re playing away. Two to combine for a ridiculous narrow defeat.
Sorry if this repeats – every time I post it seems to drop out.
.
if neto plays then it’s a narrow win for us
Although I want to predict a win, I’m not at all confident about tonight’s game. So I’m going to sit on the fence for this one and predict a draw. One point away from home wouldn’t be a bad result and it could potentially happen. – Mind you, I’ll be hoping I’m wildly wrong and Wolves win with a hatful of goals.
UTW
After a brilliant, battling, but error-strewn display against Chelsea, I’m backing us to take the undoubted positives forward from that match. A tighter and more controlled approach should see us though against a rested Brentford tonight. I don’t want to see any stupid headlines, like, Wolves Stung by Bees. I’ll settle for Wolves Devour Bees. Hopefully we will see Pedro get some minutes, but with only two more fixtures before the international break, I wonder if he will be held back to cement his recovery? If there is a silver lining in this injury cloud, it’s unlikely that he will be on the move in January!
Presumably Fabio Silva will play no further part in these final fixtures to ensure that injury does not stop him moving in January! Good riddance to a massive mistake. I question if his rumoured mega salary of £80k a week caused unrest in the dressing room and led to other departures?
Full credit to Nuno for a great result against Newcastle. It brought back memories of historic Wolves victories.
2-0 tonight.
Hoping and wishing for a better 1st half performance than recently achieved….. avoid the now almost obligatory lapse in the first half an hour of a game , going in level or up at the interval then we will win this one ….without the Brentford performers in their squad and our oftentimes up in performance levels during the 2 nd 55 minutes there’s a chance….
What would make me smile if GON brought on Fabio in the last 15 minutes and gets the winner knowing his pre game pasta will be served in Italy before his next outing on a football pitch….
It’s just the way it is ..sang an American with a piano back in the day
It’s about time we put in an away performance that doesn’t go straight to the delete bin. I’m banking on this being the one as Brentford have been pretty dire of late and have an injury list as long as our VAR controversies. Do it boys so that we can have an excellent end to Xmas.
If Brentford had not had a week off I would be a lot more confident but as this is their first Xmas fixture I expect them to come out firing. Our away from isn’t great so I would happily take a point
A cold draw written all over.
We can win this, time to change our away fortunes around. Let’s pick there pocket or two.
This is certainly winnable but there are a few if’s …
If Neto and Dawson get on we’ll win..
If Brentford are as depleted as expected we’ll win…
If we play a back 4 we’ll draw ..
If we play like we did against West Ham we’ll lose ..
.. what is certain is that it’s going to take a big physical effort to stay in the game .. we can’t afford any passengers or concede the 1st goal inside 5 minutes ..
So I’m going for a draw with neither side finding the net …
.
Festive greetings all.
A win tonight is a tough ask. They will be fresh, but a little depleted. Wolves may be a bit leggy. I’ll take a draw.
Seasonings,
Not much time to predict mi carefully considered. I’m bullish with Thomas.
1 Lv & COYW.
utw.
Agent Collins!!
One Nathan Collins. Walking along.singing a song. Walking in a Collins wonderland.
I think that should read Blunderland Cheesey ..
They’ve often said Collins is worth a goal .. and how right that turned out to be …