Brentford-Wolverhampton is a match valid for the third round of the FA Cup and is played Friday at 8:15 pm: lineups, predictions, TV and streaming.
There is no shortage of “all-Premier League” matches in the third round of the FA Cup. One of the four challenges between teams both playing in the top flight is between Brentford and Wolverhampton, two clubs that moreover share the same goal in the league and that is to reach a quiet salvation.
So far, it is the Bees who are well behind schedule. Brentford, in fact, occupies 16th place in the standings and would even be fourth to last without the penalty imposed on Everton. The Londoners have a four-point lead over Luton but the gap to third-last is narrowing day by day. For a couple of months now, the red and whites have been going through a very black period: in the last 8 Premier League days they have beaten Luton exclusively, conceding seven defeats. Thomas Frank’s men, still orphaned of their goal scorer Ivan Toney — disqualified for soccer offenses, he is expected to return in mid-January — a week ago also returned empty-handed from the nearby away match with Crystal Palace, which got the better of them 3-1. Only three days earlier, the Bees had cashed in four goals (1-4) against the Wolves themselves, who had done the business at Community Stadium.
Black period for Brentford
The chance to avenge that defeat comes in the FA Cup, although Brentford’s main goal now is to get back to scoring in the league.
Wolverhampton, on the other hand, can “distract” themselves without any problems, coming from three wins in a row: Gary O’Neil’s black-and-golden side last Saturday also beat Everton (3-0) and are now just one point behind ninth-ranked Newcastle. As well as Brentford, there will be numerous changes at Wolves, who must do without one of their best players, South Korean Hwang, called up by his own national team for the Asian Cup. The other unavailable players are Ait-Nouri and Traoré, both of whom featured in the African Cup of Nations.
The prediction
An open prediction as in the league match last December 27. Wolverhampton is obviously better off but in the cup surprises are always around the corner and much will depend on the formations that the two coaches will field. We do not expound on the result but we are convinced that goals, as two weeks ago, will hardly be lacking.
The probable formations of Brentford-Wolverhampton
BRENTFORD (3-5-2): Strakosha; Jorgensen, Pinnock, Collins; Roerslev, Onyeka, Norgaard, Jensen, Ghoddos; Lewis-Potter, Wissa.
WOLVERHAMPTON (3-4-2-1): Bentley; S. Bueno, Kilman, Toti; Doherty, Bellegarde, Gomes, H. Bueno; Sarabia, Cunha; Kalajdzic.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
