Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Brentford are currently enjoying their first season back in the English top flight after a 74 year absence. But can they keep up their early season form and avoid an immediate return to the Championship?
Few football fans could deny Brentford's place in the Premier League. Under manager Thomas Frank, they play free flowing attacking football and narrowly missed out on promotion in the past, before beating Swansea 2-0 to seal their place in the EPL.
As with all newly-promoted teams, Brentord started the season as odds-on favourites to be relegated in the EPL betting markets, along with fellow promoted sides Norwich and Watford. However, Frank's young side could just have what it takes to cause an upset and retain their Premier League place for another season.
After a good pre-season which included a 2-1 victory over Spanish side Valencia, the Bees kicked off the 2021/2022 season with a London derby against the mighty Arsenal. A 2-0 victory saw the new boys top the Premier League table overnight. Draws away at Crystal Palace and Aston Villa saw Brentford head into the international break undefeated with 5 points from their first 3 games.
The home match with Arsenal also gave Bees fans one of their first chances to experience the club's new 17,500 seater stadium, the Brentford Community Stadium. The new ground is a short walk away from the much-loved Griffin Park, but fans would have certainly been happy after that opening day win over Arsenal. Indeed, with Brenford currently playing in the EPL's smallest stadium, the fans could have a very important role to play in the club's fight for survival.
Much of Brentford's success last season can be put down to forward Ivan Toney who has now notched up 32 goals in 48 games since joining the club for £5m from Peterborough. Toney has proved himself to be a great lower league goalscorer, claiming 40 goals in 76 games for The Posh after joining from Newcastle in 2018. He is relishing a shot at playing in the Premier League and his goals will go a long way to deciding Brentford's fate at the end of the season.
The Bees have had a busy summer, with the club spending over £30m on new players. Midfield and defence have been their primary focus with 3 big name additions from abroad.
DR Congo winger Yoane Wissa was signed from French side FC Lorient for £9m. He is joined by fellow midfielder Frank Onyeka, the Nigerian star signing for £9m from Norwegian outfit FC Midtjylland.
The club's biggest summer signing though was the £14m club record fee paid to Celtic for Norwegian defender Kristoffer Ajer. The 23 year old played over 100 games for the Hoops before his big money move to London. He is also a regular starter for Norway, with 25 caps to his name so far.
Only time will tell if the Bees are good enough to avoid an immediate return to the Championship, but their good start has given them great ground to build upon. If they survive this year, they'll need to be wary of so called “second season syndrome†which has got the better of the likes of Blackpool and Huddersfield Town in recent years.
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