Sabasports Match Preview
Premier League: Brentford vs Crystal Palace
Kickoff Time: 2024-08-18 21:00 (HKT)
SOURCE:USA TODAY SPORTS/Barry Reeger
Last season, Brentford finished 16th in the Premier League standings, narrowly maintaining their top-flight status. Looking at the statistics, Brentford scored a total of 56 goals and conceded 65 last season, showing a strong attacking power but a weak defense. This makes them a typical team with strong offense but weak defense. In the summer, Brentford had several players leaving due to contract expiration, but the team also made several signings to strengthen their squad. The most significant signing was Portuguese midfielder Fabio Carvalho, who joined from Liverpool. Whether as the team’s playmaker or as a winger, Carvalho has the ability to create chances with his excellent skills and wide vision. His versatility will inject new energy into Brentford’s attacking line.
As for Crystal Palace, they finished 10th in the Premier League last season, showing an overall decent performance. In terms of statistics, Crystal Palace scored a total of 57 goals and conceded goals last season, displaying a relatively balanced performance in both offense and defense. This summer, Crystal Palace sold winger Michael Olise to Bayern Munich for 53 million euros, and then signed Senegalese player Ismaila Sarr from Marseille. In addition, they strengthened their defense by signing Chadi Riad from Real Betis and brought in Japanese international Daichi Kamada on a free transfer. Overall, Crystal Palace retained the majority of their key players from last season and made several signings to strengthen the squad, making their overall strength stable and even improving.
Both teams have relatively equal overall strength, but Crystal Palace seems to have a slight advantage in terms of their transfer activities during the summer window. Additionally, in their previous six encounters in the Premier League, Crystal Palace remained undefeated with one win and five draws, which gives them a psychological advantage. Taking all these factors into consideration, it might be favorable to expect Crystal Palace, who has shown more outstanding performances, to come out on top in this match.
Brentford’s Last 5 Games: DDLDW
24-08-10 Brentford 4-4 Wolfsburg
24-08-03 Watford 1-1 Brentford
24-07-30 CF Estrela da Amadora 3-1 Brentford
24-07-26 Benfica 1-1 Brentford
24-07-20 AFC Wimbledon 2-5 Brentford
Crystal Palace’s Last 5 Games: DWWWD
24-08-11 Crystal Palace 1-1 Nantes
24-08-04 Crystal Palace 3-1 West Ham United
24-08-01 Crystal Palace 3-1 Wolves
24-07-27 Crawley Town 3-6 Crystal Palace
24-07-19 Crystal Palace 1-1 Charlton Athletic
Head To Head Record:
23-12-30 Crystal Palace 3-1 Brentford
23-08-26 Brentford 1-1 Crystal Palace
23-02-18 Brentofrd 1-1 Crystal Palace
22-08-31 Crystal Palace 1-1 Brentford
22-02-12 Brentford 0-0 Crystal Palace
Prediction: Crystal Palace to win or Draw