Brentford vs Burnley prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-10-20 14:00.
Just one win from their opening eight Premier League (PL) games (D4, L3) is a somewhat underwhelming start to the season for Brentford, with that standing as their worst eight match start to a PL campaign. Their record would actually be a shade better had they not squandered a 1-0 lead with three minutes and 13 seconds of stoppage time remaining in a 2-1 loss against Manchester United prior to the international break, a result Thomas Frank labelled as “brutal”.
He’ll hope his side learned from that defeat, but with a mounting injury list alongside the ongoing absence of star-man Ivan Toney, there isn’t much room for Brentford optimism. Perhaps some of that pessimism can be attributed to the fact the Bees are struggling to hold onto leads, as having nosed ahead in six of their eight league games this term, they’ve held on to win just once (D4, L1).
After eight games, Burnley are responsible for four of the nine points accumulated so far this term by the three newly-promoted sides, the lowest tally collected by a promoted trio after so many matches in PL history. That highlights the size of the challenge that awaits them this season, but having played six of their eight games against sides starting this round 11th or higher, they’ll feel that their points total doesn’t give a fair reflection of where they’re at.
The two remaining games Burnley have played against sides 12th or lower have yielded all four of their points, which should boost belief ahead of this trip to face a Brentford side who fall into that category. Building on that record will likely require them to plug a leaky back line which has conceded 20 league goals this term, although interestingly only four of them have come on the road.
Key battle: Having made the switch from Burnley to Brentford after the Clarets’ relegation in 2022, Nathan Collins has been booked after the hour mark in two of the Bees’ last four PL games. That suggests he may resort to underhand tactics to keep Lyle Foster quiet, with the Burnley striker clocking a goal involvement in each of his last five PL appearances (G3, A2).
Hot streak: Brentford have scored at least once in 17 successive home PL games.