Brentford

Melissa Edwards
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Sunderland at Gtech Community Stadium (kick-off 19:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• There is "nothing new to report" regarding team news, with the same squad from the 4-2 victory over Everton on Sunday expected to be available.

• On Igor Thiago, who scored his first Premier League hat-trick for the club in that game: "He plays a pivotal role in the team. The goals are what everyone speaks about, especially after the goals against Everton, but he's still evolving and improving the areas of his game - he's insatiable. I love working with players like that, they're the best players to work with. It was going to come and it came in a pretty spectacular fashion against Everton."

• Vitaly Janelt registered two assists in the win at the weekend and Andrews believes the midfielder makes his players better: "He's been a very consistent player. I watched him from afar and felt he was probably underrated. Those types of players, in my experience, can feel like that. They're not always the shiny toys; they're the ones who go a little bit under the radar. Vitaly has a habit of allowing other players to play better. He has a lot of trust from his team-mates."

• He added: "In recent weeks he's provided real solidity and calmness to our play, which I really like. His performance levels have been impressive."

• Brentford lost the reverse fixture at Stadium of Light in August but Andrews believes his side are much changed since then: "The team has taken big steps forward over the last few months. The understanding and the connected nature in which we play the game now, with and without the ball - we're a far better team now than we were then, for sure. [Sunderland] also had a lot of time together to build those relationships and they've played in different ways over the last few months to find themselves in a really healthy position in the league."

• He continued: "Everyone was talking about us in the summer with a little bit of scepticism, understandably. But we just gone on with our business. In the main, we've taken steps in the right direction. You have to take hits along the way; that's just the nature of the league we're in. To be sat here in seventh, we're not taking that for granted, for sure. We're pretty content."

Follow all of Tuesday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Why can't Brentford win away from home? Why can't we score from corners? Why isn't Mikkel Damsgaard in the team? Why has Igor Thiago stopped scoring?

All these questions have been asked by Bees fans in recent weeks - all were answered emphatically in our first visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.

While Thiago will deservedly get the headlines for his brilliant hat-trick, Damsgaard ran the show in his first start since our woeful performance and result at Tottenham.

Since then we are unbeaten in five Premier League games and Sunday was our best away win and performance of the season, given that the other two were at strugglers West Ham and Wolves.

Thiago took all his goals in true centre-forward style. He is such fun to watch - someone who genuinely seems to love what he is doing and to care about the club. His celebration after his second goal of climbing into the away end to celebrate with fans summed up what he is about.

Nathan Collins also finally ended our Premier League goal drought from corners when he headed in the second - a carbon copy of his Carabao Cup goal at Grimsby.

A word too for long-serving Vitaly Janelt, who became the first player to reach 150 Premier League appearances for Brentford, against Spurs.

Janelt is one of those players every club needs - solid and unspectacular but also skilful and totally reliable.

After only playing a bit-part early on this season, he has now started six of the past seven games and again showed his worth. His pass for Thiago's first goal on Sunday was superb and it was also his corner from which Collins headed home.

Janelt is one of three players from our Championship days who is out of contract this summer - Mathias Jensen and Rico Henry are the others - and I would dearly love him, in fact all of them, to stay.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League match between Everton and Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Everton fans

Simon: Everton lacked any real idea going forward, playing out wide and getting nowhere. Seemed to have no nerve in playing forward quickly and instead clung on to the ball, lost it and got caught out. Brentford seemed more willing to be more direct and take the gamble. Good to see Beto and Barry score.

Andy: Grealish was good and I'm pleased to see Beto and Barry score - but for some reason our defence was punch drunk and we lacked something in midfield. Pat on the back for the Forest win - kick up the backside for this.

Chris: What is there to say? We seem not to be able to stop conceding at our new stadium and appear to have a better away record. Well done to the two forwards for doing what they should have been doing for the past 20 games. Pity the defence were lacking. Kiss Europe goodbye for this season and concentrate on getting the 40 points needed to avoid relegation.

Andy: Reckless overconfidence, leaving defence wide open repeatedly, Everton got the result that they deserved as a consequence. We need someone to effectively boss and keep our defence organised. Weak on attack as ever, new forwards and Jarrad Branthwaite back from injury is desperately needed.

Brentford fans

Tim: Is the real Keith Andrews version of the Bees starting to emerge? Battling for every ball with willing runners all across the park. Damsgaard the Wizard controlling midfield, Thiago and Schade playing off each other superbly, Collins bossing the backline.

Rowan: An excellent performance from Thiago. Kelleher once again made some fantastic saves that helped maintain the Bees' dominance in this match. We switched off a couple of times, but these were the only glitches in what was a really good performance from the Bees. Andrews has got the Bees knocking on the door of a European place - and deservedly so!

David: Igor Thiago, take a bow - clearly man of the match. But, honestly, every single Brentford player deserves at least an 8/10. We were good against Bournemouth, but to back it up like that after so many recent games, and to do it away from home, was absolutely exceptional. Massive performance. Europe, here we come!

Rowan: An excellent performance from Thiago today. Kelleher, once again, made some fantastic saves that helped maintain the Bee's dominance in this match. We switched off a couple of times, but these were the only glitches in what was a really good performance from the Bee's today. Keith Andrews has got the Bees knocking on the door of a European place - and deservedly so!

Pundits Shay Given and Gary O'Neil join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Fulham 2-2 Liverpool

• Tottenham 1-1 Sunderland

• Everton 2-4 Brentford

• Newcastle 2-0 Crystal Palace

• Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Igor Thiago scored his first Premier League hat-trick to end his mini-goal drought in style in Brentford's 4-2 win at Everton on Sunday.

The 24-year-old had failed to hit the back of the net since a 3-1 win against Burnley back on 29 November, going six games without a goal after scoring 11 in his first 13 games of the season.

He now has 14 goals in the English top flight - with only Manchester City's Erling Haaland, with 19 goals, in front of him.

In Europe's top five leagues, only Haaland, Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Bayern Munich's England captain Harry Kane have scored more than the Brazilian this campaign.

And he needs just two more goals to become the highest-scoring Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Thiago's return to scoring from will come as a huge boost for Keith Andrews and his Brentford side who moved to seventh place with a rare away win and can dream of qualification for European competition.

The Bees had lost seven of their nine games on the road previously, collecting just six of their 27 points in away games.

But Andrews will hope an emphatic display at Hill Dickinson Stadium will spark the confidence needed to sustain a push for European football.

Keith Andrews spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Brentford's victory against Everton: "We were excellent. Personality, conviction, energy, spirit. At a very difficult ground."

On Igor Thiago's hat-trick: "Strikers live and breathe [goals] and get a lot of confidence from it. He's played well without scoring recently. His performance today was sensational. He deserves the accolades.

"It's about consistency. I feel the team and squad and club have taken good steps forward in the last few weeks. They have earned that, to play in this way.

"We are very respectul of each game. We just keep working hard. A real appetite to improve all the time and push each other and see where we go."

Igor Thiago told Sky Sports: "I knew I was going to score that [third] goal."

Captain Nathan Collins added: "He's one of the hardest working men I've ever seen and he deserves everything he gets."

Did you know?

Brentford scored their first goal from a corner in the Premier League with what was their 96th corner, becoming the last of the 20 sides to net this way in the competition this season.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Everton's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Jack Grealish returns to the starting line-up after recovering from a bout of illness in one of the two changes Everton manager David Moyes makes from the 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest.

Michael Keane also returns to the defence for the hosts as Nathan Patterson and Merlin Rohl drop to the bench.

Everton XI: Pickford, Keane, Tarkowski, McNeil, Barry, O'Brien, Mykolenko, Grealish, Dibling, Garner, Iroegbunam.

Subs: Travers, King, Patterson, Beto, Rohl, Aznou, Armstrong, Welch, Campbell.

Brentford head coach Keith Andrews makes three changes to his starting line-up from the goalless draw against Tottenham.

Aaron Hickey, Mathias Jensen and Mikkel Damsgaard come in as Rico Henry, Jordan Henderson and Keane Lewis-Potter make way.

Brentford XI: Kelleher, Hickey, Ajer, Collins, Schade, Jensen, Thiago, Damsgaard, Yarmoliuk, Janelt, Kayode.

Subs: Valdimarsson, Henry, Van Den Berg, Pinnock, Nelson, Henderson, Lewis-Potter, Peart-Harris, Donovan

There are six games in the Premier League on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Leeds v Manchester United (12:30)

• Everton v Brentford - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Fulham v Liverpool - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Newcastle v Crystal Palace - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

• Tottenham v Sunderland - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Manchester City v Chelsea (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction from the first five games here

And go here for Man City v Chelsea

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Everton have had a great season so far. Beating Forest was an important result for them, because the six teams immediately above them all dropped points.

They are now in eighth place and, with another home league game against Wolves to come after this one, their fans must be thinking this week is a real opportunity to climb higher.

It won't be easy against Brentford, however. Keith Andrews' side took seven points out of a possible nine over Christmas, and are also in the top half of the table.

I actually think the Bees are a better team when Jordan Henderson isn't playing - Andrews left him out of their wins over Bournemouth and Wolves and they seem to have a bit more energy without him in the team.

Whether Henderson plays or not, I just can't see a lot of goals here - one will probably be enough to win it.

Brentford are very effective on the counter-attack and are certainly capable of getting a result, but I am going to back Everton to edge it.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Everton aim for back-to-back Premier League wins, against a Brentford side that has struggled away from home this season.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes ahead of Sunday's meeting at Hill Dickinson Stadium (15:00 GMT).

Depleted Everton still winning

Manager David Moyes regarded Everton's win at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night as one of the best since his return to the club last January because of the quality of personnel who were unavailable for selection.

The Toffees were missing Jarrad Branthwaite, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Carlos Alcaraz, Idrissa Gueye, Iliman Ndiaye and Michael Keane, while Jack Grealish was only fit enough to start on the bench.

Merlin Rohl, who joined from Freiburg last summer, made his first Premier League start and right-back Nathan Patterson his first start of the season at the City Ground.

Seven of the nine substitutes listed in midweek had never played Premier League football before – a situation which means that Everton have recalled teenage midfielder Harrison Armstrong from an impressive loan spell at Preston North End.

Keane is the only senior player who may return from injury in time to face Brentford.

Everton chief executive Angus Kinnear, however, has indicated that the club will only do business in January if the right players are available at a reasonable cost, with resources more likely to be focused on continuing the club's rebuild in the summer.

Toffees' lack of goals may not be solved in January

Everton may well have to rely on their existing squad to win matches in the second half of 2025-26 despite an ongoing battle to score goals.

The 2-0 win at Forest ended a run of three matches without a Premier League goal for the Toffees, while centre-forward Thierno Barry scored just a second goal of the campaign at the City Ground.

Barry failed to score with his first 15 shots for Everton but now has two goals from his past three attempts, an upturn in efficiency that will please Moyes given his side continue to struggle at turning opportunity into meaningful attempts.

The Toffees are averaging just 3.1 shots on target per game this season, their lowest on record since Opta began recording such data in 1997-98.

It means that Everton have been reliant on a resolute rearguard to safeguard points once ahead – only Arsenal have kept more clean sheets - while the Toffees' past five league victories have come while shutting out their opponents, meaning the first goal on Saturday could be crucial against a Brentford team struggling away from home.

Brentford's awayday blues

The Bees begin this contest just one place behind Everton in the Premier League table but while the Toffees' tally of 28 points has been split exactly into 14 apiece at home and on the road, Brentford have been heavily reliant on results at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Only bottom side Wolves have lost more Premier League away games than Brentford this season. The Bees' tally of seven away defeats is just one fewer than they sustained in the entirety of last season.

Keith Andrews' side did win their most recent away fixture, triumphing at Wolves on 20 December, but they have found visits to the blue half of Merseyside more difficult, failing to score in their past three fixtures at Everton (D1, L2).

Everton's home form, however, has not been as strong as perhaps Moyes would like, alternating between victory and defeat in their past six Premier League games at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The Toffees lost 1-0 against Arsenal last time out, but they have not been defeated in successive home matches in a year – although Moyes may well wish more of his injured players were back in time for Sunday's match if that record is not to come under threat.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• He said there are "a few little knocks" from the Tottenham game but "nothing of any note" that should affect Sunday's line-up.

• On Mikkel Damsgaard not featuring against Spurs: "He is someone who I rate very highly. At times we haven't found him in the right areas where he can be as effective as we know he can be. I think that's only a matter of time as the team starts to evolve, with a little bit more control maybe than we had."

• More on Damsgaard's omission: "I think with any player I speak about the competition for places we have. I'm always quick to compliment the squad in general for what we create here, which is an environment where they push each other on a day-to-day basis. Any training sessions we have are trained with an edge and a competitive streak that is match-like. Any player that wants to get back in the team has to show that level in training and Dams falls into that category."

• Andrews said they will "probably have some [players] go out to get some regular football" in this transfer window, but otherwise it is "definitely about retaining" key players.

• More on the transfer window: "January is a tricky month. We are in a position in the league that is stable so we don't need to make any decisions for the club that aren't right in the medium to long-term."

• He said he has "no worries" about Igor Thiago, who has not scored in six games, as "the trajectory of that goalscoring streak that he was on was not realistic to continue".

• More on Thiago: "He's also a marked man. I think teams are paying special attention to him. He's constantly evolving his game and learning and wanting to learn, which is crucial."

• On opponents Everton: "The way they play their game is constantly evolving. They've got some really talented individuals."

Listen to live commentary of Everton v Brentford on BBC Sports Extra 2 with coverage starting from 14:55 GMT on Sunday

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Thursday Premier League game between Brentford and Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Stephen: Both teams should pay the fans back their ticket prices. That was rubbish, to be honest.

Sian: To the extent that any team deserved more out of it, we were the better team (especially in the second half). But honestly, for such a drab team, a draw is probably not too unfair of a result.

Nicholas: What a dull affair that was. It seemed both teams were content with a point. Thought Brentford would have had more of a go but they did look tired after the ridiculous amount of games being played in this period. Still, one home loss at the turn of the year is pretty good going.

Spurs fans

Kevin: Probably the worst game of football I've ever watched. It has been proven that Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur can't play alongside each other and this was another clear example. Mohammed Kudus has been awful recently - his decision-making is shocking.

Richard: Better performance than the commentators are saying. Plenty of movement and purpose, but both defences were good at harrying attackers and blocking shots.

Will: Yet another poor performance that was really hard to watch, lacking intensity, purpose, game management and a general ability to control and pass the ball. We were clearly set up for a draw, which is what we now seem to do as a team/club with a mid-table mindset. Sad to watch this steady decline over the past few years. We are no longer a top-six team, just a top-six venue.

Emily Salley
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

After losing Thomas Frank to Tottenham in the summer, and with the departures of captain Christian Norgaard and star winger Bryan Mbeumo, there were fears of Brentford's future.

But new manager Keith Andrews and new signings have quietly gone about their business this season and ensured the Bees remain a difficult team to beat.

Brentford stifled Frank's team from the start, cutting out any Tottenham attacks early and piling on pressure with a determined press, but they were unable to make their dominance count.

A heavy touch from Kevin Schade scuppered his attempt at breaking the deadlock at the end of the first half, while Keane Lewis-Potter swiped and mishit a dangerous cross in from Igor Thiago - making it a simple save for Guglielmo Vicario.

Thiago - Brentford's top scorer this season with 11 goals - was unable to break his six-game streak without a goal when he skewed a close-range strike over the crossbar.

Keith Andrews spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Brentford's draw against Tottenham: "Lovely to see Thomas [Frank], as always. [He's] somebody who I respect hugely. I enjoyed working with him last season. Tonight, I thought we edged it and if anybody was going to win the game it was probably us."

On Brentford's missed chances: "They beat us twice last season - they deserved to beat us 26 days ago at Spurs. Today was a completely different performance. We wanted it quick in the tempo in the second half and they tried to slow it down.

"Thomas is very aware of what this home crowd can do and how dangerous we can be. Their goalkeeper got booked for time wasting which pretty much says it all.

On Cristian Romero's challenge on Igor Thiago: "Two games in a row he has been very fortunate not to get red cards for tackles on Thiago.

"I don't think it's an easy one for the officials, I thought the one in the home game was a very easy one. I am always very respectful of the individuals and understanding of the job that they have to do - but I thought he was really fortunate.

"I thought the irony of us getting checked for a penalty and there was nothing around the challenge on Thiago which, having watched it back, was a blatant red card for me, so I would have been pretty aggrieved if they had gone up the other end and gone the other way.

"It is difficult for the officials. We are a very honest team in how we play the game. I don't want our teams looking for silly or cheap fouls - I want us to be a team that puts it on the opposition and plays the game in the right way. Our players won't fall to the ground. Unfortunately, Thiago was stopped from getting to the ball."

Did you know?

• Brentford have played out their 12th goalless draw in the Premier League, with only Crystal Palace (17), Everton (14) and Brighton (13) having more since the Bees joined the division in 2021-22.

Pundits Steph Houghton and Dion Dublin join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Thursday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Tottenham's display?

Come back on Friday for a selection of your replies

Brentford XI: Kelleher; Kayode, Ajer, Collins, Henry; Yarmoliuk, Janelt; Lewis-Potter, Henderson, Schade, Igor Thiago.

Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Van den Berg, Pinnock, Jensen, Nelson, Damsgaard, Konak, Donovan.

Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Gray, Bentancur; Kudus, Richarlison, Odobert.

Subs: Kinsky, Austin, Dragusin, Danso, Tel, Davies, Kolo Muani, Scarlett, Olusesi.