Brentford v Bournemouth predictions: No end to Bees' good times

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Brentford v Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bets

Brentford to win & under 4.5 goals
1pt Evs Coral, Ladbrokes

Ben Mee to score at any time
1pt 11-1 bet365

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Team news

Brentford
Thomas Frank says Ivan Toney is fit enough to start, while January arrival Kevin Schade is pushing for his league debut. Shandon Baptiste, Aaron Hickey and Pontus Jansson and Frank Onyeka are long-term absentees.

Bournemouth
Jefferson Lerma is available after being rested for the FA Cup loss to Burnley. Adam Smith is suspended while Neto, Junior Stanislas, Ryan Fredericks, David Brooks and Marcus Tavernier are not ready to return.

Match preview

The rebirth of Beckham mania has garnered as much attention as Brentford's recent impressive run of results, but a good win over Bournemouth may stop people asking: ‘wherefore art though Romeo?’ for the time being.

The high-profile addition of David Beckham’s second offspring, Romeo, to the Bees' B squad has coincided with the club's longest unbeaten run in the top flight in 85 years, lifting them to ninth in the Premier League table.

Thomas Frank has rightly been recognised for putting together an impressive six-game undefeated streak which includes victories at home to Liverpool and away to Manchester City, earning a nomination for the November/December Manager of the Month award, after being handed a two-year contract extension by the Bees.

And with top scorer Ivan Toney set to return from injury in time for a run of three fixtures against teams in the bottom seven, which starts with Saturday's visit of Bournemouth, even brighter days may lay ahead for Brentford.

An FA Cup third-round loss to West Ham was a minor blip but the Bees should hit straight back with a routine win over a Bournemouth side stuck in a rut.

The Cherries were booed off after an error-strewn FA Cup defeat at home to Burnley last weekend which extended their losing run to five matches in all competitions.

January could prove a pivotal month for the club with new owner Bill Foley needing to pump some money into the transfer coffers if he’s to make good on his pledge to avoid relegation.

Staying up looks a tall order right now, though, with boss Gary O’Neil faced with issues at both ends of the pitch.

Bournemouth have gone three games without a goal and have failed to score in a league-high ten matches, while their expected-goals per game figure of 0.88 is the lowest in the Premier League.

In defence, the Cherries have slipped back into some bad habits that O’Neil thought he’d knocked out of them, conceding 11 goals in their last four away games.

That doesn’t bode well against a Brentford side who have converted 25 per cent of their shots since the season resumed, particularly given Brentford’s strength and Bournemouth’s vulnerability from set-pieces.

Excluding penalties, the Cherries have been breached 13 times from dead-ball situations while Brentford have scored nine times, and a small wager on Ben Mee putting his aerial ability to go use to add to his two-goal tally for the Bees appeals.

These two teams are heading in opposite directions so backing Brentford to win a game containing no more than four goals at evens - under 4.5 has landed in eight of their nine home games this season - is a strong option.