First-minute specialists Brentford could achieve another unprecedented Premier League feat when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers in Saturday afternoon's contest at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The Bees had to accept a 1-1 draw with West Ham United in last weekend's London derby, while the efforts of Gary O'Neil's winless men were in vain during a 2-1 loss to Liverpool.
Match preview
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Making the net ripple within the opening 30 seconds against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City was not a recipe for success for Brentford, but the Bees' commitment to kickoff goals did not wane when London rivals West Ham came to town last weekend.
Indeed, Bryan Mbeumo took a mere 37 seconds to crash home a brilliant volley, as Thomas Frank's side became the first-ever Premier League team to score in the first minute of three successive games, but the Irons grew into the game and levelled through Tomas Soucek early in the second half.
The Czech Republic midfielder's goal bore a striking resemblance to Jack Wilshere's magnificent team goal for Arsenal against Norwich City in 2013-14, as Brentford were bamboozled by some wonderful one-touch passes inside a crowded penalty area and thus saw their top-flight winless streak stretch to three games.
Nevertheless, the Bees are comfortably in mid-table obscurity in 12th place ahead of the visit of Wolves, where they could become the first side to ever score four first-minute goals in a row in the Premier League, and they are still unbeaten at home in all tournaments in 2024-25.
However, Frank's men have also conceded one goal in each of their four matches at the Gtech Community Stadium so far and have now dropped a staggering 38 points from winning positions since the start of last term, unsurprisingly a league high.
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In contrast, Wolves were nearly on the other side of the coin during the visit of Liverpool last weekend, where O'Neil's men fell behind to Ibrahima Konate's maiden Premier League goal before Rayan Ait-Nouri quickly restored parity for the Old Gold.
Wolves were only on terms for a grand total of five minutes, though, as Mohamed Salah clinically dispatched a second-half penalty to ensure that Liverpool left with all the spoils, as Saturday's visitors were left to rue what could have been against the league leaders.
As Liverpool look down on the other 19 teams, Wolves are trailing all of their Premier League rivals in last place in the table, having only collected a meagre one point from their opening six contests while losing each of their last three, in addition to an EFL Cup defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
However, Wolves have already faced four of the current top five (Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa) during an incredibly challenging start to the campaign, and O'Neil's man have continued to come good in the final third, scoring in each of their last seven games across all tournaments.
On the flip side, O'Neil's men were nullified in a 2-0 home loss to Brentford during the 2023-24 Premier League season, but they battered the Bees 4-1 in this fixture just after Christmas 2023. and are now unbeaten in their last five league games on Brentford's turf.
Team News
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Brentford skipper Christian Norgaard was missing from the ranks against West Ham due to a minor injury, but Frank confirmed that he was "close" to making the cut, and he is expected to be fine for Saturday's contest.
However, Mathias Jensen is not ready to return from his calf problem, while Rico Henry (knee), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Gustavo Nunes (back), Yoane Wissa (ankle), Igor Thiago (knee) and Josh Dasilva (knee) are still on the treatment table.
Kevin Schade was forced off on the hour mark against West Ham, but the attacker was only suffering from cramp, so he ought to be fine to reprise his role alongside Mbeumo, who overtook Ivan Toney's Brentford record of 47 Premier League goal contributions last weekend.
The Wolves doctors are also working overtime at the moment, as Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso Gonzalez, Yerson Mosquera and Boubacar Traore are all sidelined with knee problems, and Bastien Meupiyou (unspecified) will not be available for another couple of weeks at least.
O'Neil suffered another defensive blow last weekend when Santiago Bueno had to come off reporting pain in his glute, but the centre-back has trained as normal since, while Craig Dawson has done partial practice after recovering from illness.
O'Neil will not make sweeping changes to his Wolves setup after a valiant effort last weekend, but Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was only on the pitch for 52 minutes and has all of Carlos Forbs, Goncalo Guedes, Hwang Hee-chan and Pablo Sarabia vying for his place.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Schade, Mbeumo, Lewis-Potter
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Semedo, Bueno, Toti, Ait-Nouri; Cunha, Lemina, Andre, Gomes, Forbs; Strand Larsen
We say: Brentford 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves' early-season results do not paint the full picture for O'Neil's side, who have faced several big-hitters early on, and the goal-happy visitors are not short of attacking options ready to capitalise on Brentford's home defensive woes.
Keeping the ball out of their own goal remains a serious issue for the visitors, but as Brentford have a habit of letting leads slip, we can envisage Wolves biting back to earn a point, albeit one that extends their painful wait for all three.
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Ben Knapton
