Get ready for an exciting match between Brentford and Everton! These two teams are hungry for a big win to get their seasons going.
Brentford loves to play fast, attacking football. They zip the ball around quickly and get lots of guys forward. Spanish midfielder Jensen is the maestro who makes them click.
But Everton will try to slow them down. Manager Dyche has the Toffees sit deep and defend with tons of players. They want to disrupt Brentford's rhythm. It can be frustrating to play against!
When Everton do get forward, they'll try quick counters through speedy Gray and Townsend on the wings. Up front, Calvert-Lewin is a beast in the air if they cross it to him.
Both teams need this result! Brentford wants to keep flying high near the top of the standings. And Everton are desperate for points after some early struggles.
The match will take place on Saturday, 23rd September, 2023, at Gtech Community Stadium, in Brentford, West London.
Right from the start, Brentford looked sharp on the counterattack. As soon as they got the ball, the Bees would zip it forward quickly to catch Newcastle off guard.
Mathias Jensen was masterful in midfield for Brentford, orchestrating their speedy attacks. He was able to find teammates in dangerous positions with clever passes.
Newcastle's midfield struggled to contain Jensen and slow down Brentford's fast breaks. The Bees were getting quality chances early.
Brentford's best early opportunity came when Aaron Hickey broke free and rifled a shot on goal. But Newcastle keeper Nick Pope made a stellar save to deny Hickey and keep things scoreless.
Pope really bailed his team out with that big stop. Brentford was buzzing and looking the more threatening side at that point.
Just when they seemed to be rolling, Brentford suffered a big setback when wing-back Rico Henry went down injured after a tangle with Newcastle's Trippier.
Henry is so important to Brentford's attack with his speed, passing and crossing ability. Losing him changed the dynamic and disrupted the Bees' early momentum.
With Henry gone, Newcastle finally began settling into the game. They started keeping the ball better and piecing together dangerous attacks.
Guimaraes had a good-headed chance from a corner kick that forced a good save out of Brentford keeper Flekken. The Magpies were finally getting hold of things after Brentford's fast start.
The game was very even when a controversial penalty put Newcastle ahead. Gordon went down very easily in a tangle with keeper Flekken.
It looked like a soft call, but Wilson buried the penalty kick calmly. You could tell how frustrated the Bees were to fall behind in such a questionable decision.
Even after the penalty, Brentford didn't fold. They continued defending resiliently and trying to hit Newcastle on the counter.
The Bees nearly equalized late but Mbeumo's handball was spotted on review, taking away a penalty. Brentford made a valiant effort but lost by a lone goal.
Everton came into this game looking to make things very difficult for Arsenal. Manager Sean Dyche had his players sit deep and defend with lots of players behind the ball.
They allowed Arsenal to have most of the possession and passes. But Everton's defense stayed compact and narrow to cut out space. They tried to disrupt Arsenal's rhythm.
It made for a pretty boring first half! Everton just focused on stopping Arsenal's dangerous attackers like Saka and Odegaard from creating chances.
The closest Arsenal came to scoring was when Martinelli put a nice shot into the net. But it didn't count because VAR said Nketiah was offside when the play started.
That was a big relief for Everton! It let them go into halftime still level at 0-0 thanks to their strong defending.
In attack, Everton posed virtually no threat whatsoever. The Toffees had zero cutting edge in the final third. Everton mustered just a couple of half-chances in a toothless attacking effort bereft of quality.
The Gunners kept pushing with more energy and passing in the second half. They started pulling Everton's defense out of position.
Everton was having more trouble closing down Arsenal's attackers. Late in the game, Trossard scored a sweet goal to finally beat Pickford.
Everton heads dropped noticeably, with fans heading for the exits well before full-time in sheer disgust at the Toffees' dire showing.
Arsenal had to stay patient against Everton's stubborn defense. The Gunners kept probing and finally unlocked the Toffees with a slick move and classy finish.
It was a grueling game, but Arsenal's focus paid off. Their quality showed in the end to get a tough three points on the road.
From their dreadful surrender, there were simply no positives whatsoever that Everton could draw on heading into this crunch encounter with Brentford.
Brentford: Mark Flekken, Rico Henry, Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock, Aaron Hickey, Vitaly Janelt, Christian Nörgaard, Mathias Jensen, Yoane Wissa, Kevin Schade, Bryan Mbeumo
Everton: Jordan Pickford, Ben Godfrey, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, Seamus Coleman, Dwight McNeil, Amadou Onana, Abdoulaye Doucouré, Alex Iwobi, Demarai Gray, Andros Townsend
Brentford's slick playmaker Jensen takes on Everton's stud midfielder Onana. Both are so good at controlling the middle of the pitch.
Everton defender Tarkowski faces a big test trying to contain Brentford's speedy striker Mbeumo. Pace kills!
On the wing, Brentford's dangerous Henry clashes with Everton's Coleman. Both dash up and down the flank tirelessly.