Brentford host Tottenham at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, August 22 (12:30 PM ET \/ 11:30 AM CT \/ 9:30 AM PT).<\/p>\n
Brentford will be without the injured Antoni Milambo and the unavailable Sepp van den Berg, but Igor Thiago and Kevin Schade should still lead the line, having scored twenty-two and eight goals last season respectively. Tottenham travel with a far longer list of concerns: the injured Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert, Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero and James Maddison are all out, along with the unavailable Mateus Fernandes, while the doubtful Mohammed Kudus and Dominic Solanke are carrying knocks and Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie are also touch-and-go. Richarlison and Jo\u00e3o Palhinha look the two certainties for the visitors, with Richarlison’s eleven goals last season the standout return in that front line.<\/p>\n
Both sides closed out last season in stop-start fashion: Brentford drew with Crystal Palace, lost at Manchester City, beat West Ham, lost at Manchester United and drew with Fulham, while Tottenham lost at Chelsea, drew with Leeds, won at Aston Villa, won at Wolves and drew with Brighton. That pattern of games with goals at both ends fits this fixture too, with Igor Thiago’s power up front for Brentford matched by Richarlison and Jo\u00e3o Palhinha’s craft for Spurs. Expect openings for both attacks in west London, with the visitors’ patched-up defence giving Brentford’s front line a route back into a game few will expect to stay quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n