Brentford

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

The season has started with a bang. With so many new coaches and major squad upheavals, I expected the unexpected and wasn't disappointed.

Hull City seeing off Manchester United raised the most eyebrows. Remember, United ended last season impressively and their hosts just about squeezed up from the Championship, via the play-offs. These are early days and Michael Carrick's side will improve, so need to panic yet. As for Hull, their performance hinted at something else.

Last season Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth didn't have the slightest hint of an inferiority complex when facing the super-clubs. The Tigers have started in the same style and I suspect others have now seen the light and will follow their lead.

Many are now embracing the idea of chaos, following the control-based dogma that held sway for so long. Some suggest this is "Kloppism" eclipsing the Guardiola doctrine. This is a bit simplistic but there is change in the air and it is being helped by the recent rule changes.

The game is speeding up, encouraging a quicker, more open style that lends itself to this organised chaos. It's early days, but already a pattern appears set for the season; reputations might count for little when up against hungry, youthful, fearless opponents.

Spurs and Aston Villa are seen as "big" clubs but size doesn't matter when confronted by a hunger, desire to work and the ensuing mayhem.

Just look at the way Brentford and Brighton closed both of them down at the weekend; Manchester City were within six minutes of losing to Bournemouth; Liverpool were seconds away from losing to Newcastle, a team supposedly gutted of quality and experience after those brutal summer sales.

Pat Nevin writes weekly in the Football Extra newsletter. If you're outside the UK and would like to receive it, sign up here.

Katie Stafford & Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport

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BBC Sport understands Coventry City are closing in on a deal for Brentford centre-back Ethan Pinnock.

The 33-year-old Jamaica international, who joined from Barnsley in 2019, is in the final year of his contract with the Bees.

He has made a total of 216 appearances for the West London club, scoring 12 times.

Pinnock played a vital role in Brentford's promotion to the Premier League but has since lost his place in their starting XI, featuring just eight times last season.

He would be the Sky Blues' ninth signing of the summer and second defensive reinforcement following the arrival of Aurele Amenda from Eintracht Frankfurt in July.

Huzaifah Khan
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Carabao Cup game against Birmingham City at St. Andrew's (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On team news, Andrews confirmed there will be changes from Saturday's Premier League opener but would not confirm how many.

• He did reveal that Callum Wilson will "certainly" feature after making his Bees debut in the 3-0 win against Tottenham.

• He added that Wilson has "got up to speed really quickly" and "has played a big part already behind the scenes".

• On the reception Mamadou Sangare received from the fans after his man of the match performance, the Irish head coach said: "The connection between our players and fans is really important to me. The connection that we have as a football club. For them to take to a new player in that way straight away is quite special."

• After last season's run to the quarter-finals of this competition, Andrews believes Brentford are "in a good place to attack the domestic competitions on a really good level".

• Asked if it was possible for his side to repeat last season's deep cup run, he replied: "I certainly hope so. That's the plan. It would be nice to go all the way, but there are a lot of obstacles that will come before then. First up is Birmingham."

• On opponents Birmingham, Andrews said: "They've been on a very good journey with promotion and stabilisation. I've been to St Andrews on many occasions, and it will be a tough place to go."

Listen to full match commentary of Birmingham City v Brentford on BBC Radio 5 Live from 20:00 BST on Tuesday.

Got a question about Brentford? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brentford and Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Rob: Most complete performance I've seen from a Bees team in the Premier League. Dominated from start to finish, Spurs hardly had a chance and 3-0 flatters them. I think Spurs need Igor Tudor to come in and steady the ship.

Mark: So refreshing to see the Bees playing positive, one-touch, attacking football. The link-up play is excellent and the addition of Sangare has really added strength. A totally dominant performance and a clean sheet!

Steve: Best ever opening-day performance at the highest level by Brentford. All the talk is about how bad Spurs were but credit Brentford who did not give them an inch for 90 minutes. Only one team was up to for the fight and Spurs know it was lucky it was only three. They were taken to the sword. Brentford deserve every plaudit.

Cliff: We taught Spurs a lesson that you need more than money to build a team. They could blow another quarter of a billion pounds and still wouldn't have what Brentford have. Passion, heart and togetherness from top to bottom, from the owner to the fans and programme sellers.

Tottenham fans

Tom: Same pathetic display from Spurs. The players should be ashamed of themselves. Brentford outfought, outplayed and outclassed the multi-million pound Spurs team who never turned up. No excuses, they were humiliated by a team that didn't cost anywhere near what Spurs cost.

Jon: What a shambolic performance. I was really looking forward to the season but, as always, Spurs fail to justify their fans' support. Disgraceful and abject, Gallagher and Bergvall especially useless. Another long and boring season ahead potentially.

Paul: The Spurs players looked as if they'd just met each other on the bus on the way to the stadium. Outfought, outran and especially outplayed. We desperately need to get a striker in as Richarlison is plainly not good enough and Solanke is hardly ever fit. Will Marmoush be the answer, (if we get him)? That remains to be seen, but we have to do something and quickly, because if we are going to defend that badly we're going to need to score two or three every game.

Amelia: Almost as bad as last season but I'm going to be generous and give them a month or so to settle in with all the changes. The only way is up...surely?

Brentford are preparing to make an improved £37m offer for West Ham United's Senegal defender El Hadji Malick Diouf, 21. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Brentford starting XI:

Caoimhin Kelleher: Calm as ever in goal and made the saves when he needed to. 6

Michael Kayode: Busy and a threat out wide. Opportunist goal to effectively clinch the victory. 7

Kristoffer Ajer: Read the game well throughout, Composed and dealt well with any Spurs danger, such as there was. 6

Nathan Collins: Missed early headed chance but it did not prove costly. Untroubled at the back. 6

Keane Lewis-Potter: Clinical finish for Brentford's opening goal and provided quality on the flanks. 7

Vitaly Janelt: Pounced for second goal and provided the sort of solid performance Brentford have come to count on. 7

Mathias Jensen: Dangerous from set-pieces and his shot helped set up Brentford's second goal for Janelt. 7

Dango Ouattara: Poor touch cost him a chance of a goal in the first half but his prodigious work-rate made a crucial contribution. 6

Mamadou Sangare: Outstanding. Won possession, used possession and set up Lewis-Potter's opening goal superbly. Club-record signing at £39m looks a bargain. 8

Igor Thiago: Physical presence worried Spurs. Marred an excellent performance by missing a second-half penalty. 7

Kevin Schade: Always looking to link with Thiago and worried the Spurs defence throughout. 6

Brentford substitutes:

Yehor Yarmoliuk (on 67, Jensen): Eased his way into the action. 5

Jaidon Anthony (on 67, Ouattara): Quiet introduction for debutant. 5

Aaron Hickey (on 76, Kayode)

Mikkel Damsgaard (on 76, Sangare)

Callum Wilson (on 83, Thiago)

Subs not used: Valdimarsson, Henry, Pinnock, Schuster.

Read the full article and see how you rated the players

Brentford manager Keith Andrews speaking to Match of the Day: "Really pleased. Felt like there was a performance coming, you never really know after pre-season. The reality is the first game of the season comes and it can quickly come unstuck. I felt good for a number of weeks about how we were coming together. I was pretty pleased.

"Our fans were amazing today. There is a genuine connection here that helps. I thought we started the game brilliantly and they were fully engaged. We want to be relentless. We looked like a real team."

On Sangare's Premier League debut: "He's settled in really well. Again, it's pre-season so you don't want to get too excited, but the cohesion he brings to an already-talented midfield, we're really happy with him."

On if last season has spurred Brentford on this time around: "It's a different season, football's a soap opera, that's the reality. There are goodies, there are baddies. You need to live with that and whatever you're dealt, you deal with it. We are just in a good place."

Brentford goalscorer Keane Lewis-Potter, speaking to Match of the Day: "It's everything we dreamt of, we have been working so hard in pre-season. We want to make our stadium a ground where it's so hard to play for away teams. We have a special connection and it definitely shows."

On his goal setting the tempo for the game: "If we get one, we want to get two, three, four and keep on going. We don't want to sit back, that's not in our DNA."

On the new signings and the depth in the squad: "It's good for us as a squad to have fight sin training to see who is going to start. We have so much depth now, it helps us a lot."

On building on last season: "We know we can do better than that. It's only early but we can get better than that, definitely."

Did you know?

• Brentford have won three of their six opening day games in the Premier League (D2 L1), with all three wins coming at home, while it's their biggest in the league since 2018-19 in the Championship (5-1 v Rotherham United) and biggest ever in the top-flight.

• Brentford's xG of 3.96 is their most in a Premier League game since January 2025 against Southampton (4.46), while it's the most Tottenham Hotspur have shipped in the competition since December 2024 against Liverpool (5.63).

Neil Johnston
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford boss Keith Andrews admitted on the eve of the season that expectations have risen after they finished ninth last season, missing out on a European place on goal difference.

Yet his players look well equipped to handle the pressure on this evidence, with Sangare revelling in his new surroundings.

The Mali midfielder, signed from Lens, was at the heart of Brentford's best moves, producing two key passes, registering one shot on target and providing the assist for Lewis-Potter.

When Sangare was replaced in the 76th minute with the points in the bag, home fans gave him a standing ovation.

Brentford were everything Spurs were not - well-organised, full of energy and hard-working.

In truth, they should have won by more.

At 0-0, captain Nathan Collins headed a glorious chance wide as Brentford registered four attempts inside the opening eight minutes to set the tone for what was to come.

Dango Ouattara was also guilty of a wasteful finish at 1-0 as the home side took full advantage of the space afforded to them, with Brentford registering 26 attempts to Tottenham's nine.

The challenge for the Bees now will be to kick-on, with Leeds away next for Andrews' men in the Premier League.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Tottenham's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday as the opening weekend continues, and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Hull City v Man Utd (12:30)

• Everton v Crystal Palace - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Ipswich v Sunderland - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Nottingham Forest v Leeds

• Brentford v Tottenham (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Ipswich v Sunderland" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Tottenham match", for example.

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There is a lot of excitement surrounding Tottenham and I understand why.

Sandro Tonali is an excellent signing for them in midfield while, at the back, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke are both very good defenders and Micky van de Ven has penned a new deal too.

I am really looking forward to seeing Spurs under Roberto de Zerbi and the expectation will be that they do well. Without European football, they must be thinking about the top six.

Keith Andrews had a sensational first season as Brentford manager and it will be interesting to see how they set up - will it be a case of 'counter-attack Keith' again?

The way I see this game going, Spurs will have most of the ball but Brentford are well organised and very dangerous on the break.

Igor Thiago had an incredible campaign for the Bees last time and they have got Kevin Schade too, so I don't see them struggling for goals.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Paul Birch
BBC Sport journalist

After a traumatic season in which they narrowly avoided relegation, Tottenham look to start 2026-27 in better fashion against a Brentford side that are looking to build on an excellent campaign under Keith Andrews. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes going into their opening-weekend encounter.

After back-to-back 17th place finishes, surely the only way is up for Tottenham, especially after the club loosened their purse strings in spectacular fashion this summer.

After the farce of missing out on top transfer targets Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze last summer, they've made no mistake this time round. Having signed Mateus Fernandes for a club record £85m, they smashed it again just days later with the eyebrow raising £100m acquisition of Sandro Tonali.

Throw in the arrival of Scotland skipper Andy Robertson, ball playing centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton and Marco Senesi, who played 20 minutes of the World Cup final for Argentina, and it's easy to see why optimism is high.

Attacking signings remain a work in progress but if the double swoop for Man City duo Omar Marmoush and Savinho can get over the line then the league woes of the last two campaigns will surely be confined to a distant but unpleasant memory.

The lowlights of a wretched campaign included going 15 matches and 118 days without a league victory, managing just three wins at home and having to avoid relegation to the second tier for the first time since 1977 on the final day of the season.

All of which is not good enough for what is the world's ninth-richest football club.

The arrival of boss Roberto de Zerbi has been galvanizing and he accounted for 30% of the club's league wins last season despite only being in charge for seven matches.

In a huge contrast to Tottenham's travails, Brentford enjoyed a superb season under Keith Andrews.

Tipped by many to be relegation candidates, they revelled in confounding the doubters. They just missed out on European qualification for the first ever time by a mere point after their season petered out with just one win in their last 10 league matches.

Central to replicating their success will be getting Igor Tudor to fire again in front of goal. Only Erling Haaland scored more than his 22 top-flight goals last season which helped him secure a place in Brazil's World Cup squad.

The striker boasted the best shot conversion rate of any player to take 25 or more shots in the Premier League last season with 22 goals from 84 shots.

While the Bees haven't created a lot of headlines in this summer's transfer window they've still made some interesting signings while also not losing any of their big names.

Their record against opponents Tottenham is poor having won just one of their 10 Premier League matches against the north Londoners, and Spurs are unbeaten in their five trips to the Gtech Community Stadium.

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Tottenham at the Gtech Community Stadium (kick-off 17:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On whether fans will see any debuts for new signings: "I'd anticipate so. We've obviously got four players in from other clubs. We're really happy with the business we've done, really happy with the impact they've made both on the pitch and off the pitch in the period of pre-season and how that's grown and developed. I have no doubt that you'll see some of them."

• On the signing of Mamadou Sangare: "Pretty easy decision. He's a very talented midfielder who can do lots of aspects of that role. That's on the football side of things. Having met him it was an even easier decision. He's a very focused, very determined, very ambitious young man, very humble but equally as hungry to achieve really impressive things in his career. He's certainly a player on an upwards trajectory."

• When asked about Sangare's best position: "I just think he's a midfield player. There's a lot of pigeonholing that goes on in the game. His attributes, we've seen it closely. What he was able to do at Lens in different positions, in different systems, etc. He's an all-round midfielder for me."

• And more generally on transfers: "I'm really happy. The squad is in a good place. We knew where we were last season. We knew we were keen to add in certain areas. We got some of that pretty early. Jannik [Schuster] is a young centre back, done really well at Salzburg. Two Premier League ready players with a lot of experience with Callum [Wilson] and Jaidon Anthony and obviously we've already touched on Mamadou [Sangare]. So yes, we're really content with the business we've done."

• When asked about Keane Lewis-Potter playing at left-back: "He's played [there] in pre-season to develop him a little bit more. We've got really good players in that position. Keano plays in a different way. There's versatility to his game. Do I see him only playing there? Probably not, no."

• On expectations this season: "It's a different pressure. It was a different type of feel from 12 months ago to now. Now, the expectations are slightly different to 12 months ago. I'm OK with that. I think we proved what we're capable of last year. I want us to be an ambitious team but that is not to lose sight of what has to get you results."

• Andrews confirmed Sepp Van Den Berg will miss the first few weeks of the season through injury, Antoni Milambo is in group training and making "really good strides" and Kay Furo is set for B team minutes on Friday having recovered from a slight knock recently.

• On Fabio Carvalho: "Great to have him back. He looks really sharp, smooth, the way he's moving. He looks confident."

You can listen to full commentary of Brentford v Tottenham on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds on Sunday.

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Brentford? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

Image source, Getty Images

Crewe Alexandra have made a double signing, bringing in Celtic midfielder Kyle Ure on loan, hours after agreeing a similar deal with Brentford defender Josh Stephenson.

Ure, 20, is yet to make a first-team breakthrough at Parkhead, but he did spend the 2025-26 season out on loan at Scottish Championship side Aye United, making 18 appearances.

He will spend the season with the Alex and is the second Celtic midfielder to leave for an English club in the past week, following Arne Engels' record-breaking move to West Ham.

Left-back Stephenson, also 20, has joined Crewe on loan from the Premier League Bees until January 2027.

The former Millwall academy graduate was promoted to Brentford's first-team squad this summer and will now develop his senior experience at the Mornflake Stadium.

Image source, Reuters

Stephenson, who can also play at centre-back, was named in three Premier League matchday squads and two in the FA Cup for Brentford's first team last term, but is yet to make a senior appearance.

Ure and Stephenson follow the signings of strikers Jordan Gibson and Sheffield Wednesday loan man Charlie McNeill, centre-back Luke Offord and fellow midfielder Joe White this summer.

Both are in contention to make debuts in Saturday's League Two game against Northampton Town.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

After losing their manager, captain and top two scorers last summer, many tipped Brentford to be in a relegation battle last season. But, Keith Andrews' men proved them all wrong by comfortably finishing in the top half - and deservedly so given their underlying numbers.

While only four sides took fewer shots than the Bees, they more than made up for this by creating the best chances on average in the league, leaving them an impressive seventh for expected goals.

In fact, incredibly, only German champions Bayern Munich created better chances on average in Europe's top five leagues. That's true even if you exclude the league-high 10 penalties that the Bees were awarded.

As a result, despite having the best shot conversion rate in the league, Brentford bizarrely should've been even more clinical given the fantastic chances they had, with only five teams underperforming their xG by more than the Bees' five.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

In the Premier League last season, 13 of the 20 teams finished with between 40 and 60 points - the most in an English top-flight campaign since 2003-04 (also 13).

Was the Premier League so competitive in 2025-26 because the quality of the 'lesser' teams got better or the top teams got worse? It is hard to know for sure.

Given how savvy clubs like Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth are, the vast amounts of money that enable even bottom-half sides to sign the best talent from abroad and the Premier League's current dominance of the Europa League and Conference League, it would seem to be the former.

However, the fact that promoted play-off winners Sunderland were able to finish above 13 teams in their first season back suggests the league was maybe not as strong as we think.

What we do know is that whether because they got worse or their opponents got better, four of the sides that finished in the top seven in 2024-25 - champions Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest - took 79 points fewer between them last season.

While Forest's decline was perhaps expected given their incredible seventh-place finish in 2024-25 and their journey to the Europa League semi-finals last season, the others were far more surprising.

Sunderland and Leeds smashed the recent run of promoted sides struggling to compete by taking 64 more points than the teams they replaced in the top flight.

As a result, this season will be a bit of an upside-down one in that Bournemouth, Brighton and Sunderland have European campaigns to navigate while Chelsea, Tottenham and Newcastle do not.

Will we therefore see a bounce-back to the more 'traditional' order in 2026-27 or are we truly entering a new, fiercely-competitive era of the Premier League?

Read more on the Premier League's competitiveness

Last season: Ninth.

This season: 10th.

Keith Andrews did a superb job in succession to Thomas Frank last season, with Brentford only just missing out on a place in Europe.

Bees fans will expect more of the same this season and an indication of their continued ambition was demonstrated with the club-record signing of Mali midfielder Mamadou Sangare from Lens.

Callum Wilson, if fit, will provide proven Premier League experience up front, while Jaidon Anthony has shown what he can do at Burnley.

Igor Thiago is an outstanding spearhead, so it is easy to see why Andrews expects improvement this season.

• Read more of Phil's predictions

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Teams in the bottom half of the Premier League in 2025-26 finished with more points than they had in years, meaning that judging them simply by their position in the table is perhaps a little harsh.

Everton may have been underwhelmed with their 13th-place finish but it was the most points a team in that position had finished with since the Toffees themselves in 1999-2000.

The points of the four places below them were all the highest they have been in the Premier League for 23 years and West Ham can consider themselves unlucky to have gone down with the highest points total for an 18th-placed side since 2010-11.

However, competition has come at a cost.

One place where the Premier League has become less competitive - because it has become more fiercely-contested overall - is at the very bottom.

While it is almost expected for one side to be cut adrift long before the end of the season, nowadays two sides are getting left behind.

The average points tally of the second-bottom side in a 38-game season is 31, meaning teams that finish there have usually competed in a relegation battle for most of the season before ultimately falling short.

After the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, only two 19th-placed sides failed to reach 30 points in the first 21 seasons. But in the past decade, seven of the 10 sides to finish in that position have failed to do so.

In the past two seasons, promoted sides Ipswich and Burnley have both finished there with just 22 points - the fewest ever taken by a second-bottom side.

Relegation battles are now mostly a fight to see who takes the final spot in the bottom three, with the other two accounted for long before the final day - often by promoted sides.

But inspired by the survival of Sunderland and Leeds, promoted trio Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City will all be hoping they have what it takes to match the competitiveness of the Premier League this season.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers

Fancy testing your football prediction skills? With the new season under way, BBC Sport has just the thing to keep you entertained every week.

After the success of our World Cup Predictor game, we've rebranded it for the club season as Match of the Day Predictor.

It's simple to play - just predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

And don't worry if you've joined late - players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Once you've submitted your predictions, you'll also be able to see what others think the outcome of the match will be.

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Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Last season, the Premier League was arguably more competitive than it has been for years.

While the 65 points between champions Arsenal and bottom side Wolves was around the average for a 38-game season (63), a real revolution took place in mid-table.

Since the league was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, the gap between the top four and the bottom three – between what has often been the Champions League and the Championship – had been increasing as the seasons went by, with the 'bigger' clubs profiting from their European adventures and the extra money they earned by regularly finishing higher in the table.

But last season, the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' of the Premier League dropped from 44 points in 2024-25 to just 26 points – the smallest distance for 23 years (since 25 points in 2002-03).

The European places were more attainable than they had been for years. Despite taking a point fewer than when they finished seventh the season before, Aston Villa clinched Champions League qualification by finishing two places higher.

While Liverpool took the 'bonus' Champions League place by finishing fifth, their points total of 60 was the lowest by a side finishing there for 19 years and would have put them ninth in 2024-25.

Bournemouth and Sunderland also took full advantage of needing fewer points than normal by qualifying for European competition for the first time ever and for over half a century respectively.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers