Wolverhampton vs Brentford. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

Wolverhampton Wanderers FC will host Brentford FC in the Emirates FA Cup 3rd round replay match at the Molineux Stadium. The fixture will take place on Wednesday, January 17, beginning at 01:00 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Wolverhampton News & Current Form: 

In the English Premier League, the hosts are comfortably placed on the equator of the standings, and the current 11th place allows them to count on getting into the top half of the overall standings. Over the last 6 rounds the Wolves have lost just once to West Ham United FC (0:3), with four victories and one draw. The team’s confidence is boosted by three wins in a row – over Chelsea FC (2:1), Brentford (1:4) and Everton FC (3:0). 

Wolverhampton are forced to replay the 1/32 English League Cup final, having drawn a 1:1 draw with Brentford in their first meeting. Joao Gomes was sent off in the ninth minute of the game, and half an hour later Neal Maupay opened the scoring; however, the wards of Gary O’Neil restored parity on the scoreboard with the efforts of Tommy Doyle. This time the team will be able to count on the support of their fans, especially as the current form of the club is impressive.

Joao Gomes of Wolves got a red card in the first match with Brentford

An unusual incident occurred in this Cup match. In the ninth minute of the game, the referee showed Gomes a round red card. A round red card is not a mistake of the referee, but quite normal for English football. This format of cards has been used in England since the late 90s. 

The first reason for using round cards is to help players and fans who cannot distinguish between colors. In this case, the shape of the card suggests how exactly the referee punishes the players.

The second reason is the convenience of the referee. The referee understands by touch which card he takes out of his pocket. This increases the speed and quality of the referee’s work.

It should be highlighted, none of the hosts’ last eight matches at Molineux have ended in defeat, and the win over the Toffees on the 30th of December was their fourth of their last five on familiar turf. 

The absence of Heechan Hwang (10 goals), Rayan Ait-Nouri and Boubacar Traore, who have traveled to their national teams to participate in the AFC Asian Cup or CAF African Cup of Nations, should be noted in the visitors’ squad. Defender Jonny Otto has been left out of the squad, while key midfielder Joao Gomes is suspended and will be replaced by Brazilian Matheus Cunha (6 goals and 5 assists). José Sá will be back in goal, while Pedro Neto and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde will be responsible for creativity on the flanks.

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Brentford News & Current Form: 

Brentford have been on the decline for a long time and there is no progress in the game and results of the Londoners. The series of defeats in the Premier League reached five matches. As a result, intermediate 16th place in the table and quite likely to fight for survival, as the gap from the relegation zone is only three points.

The guests will have a very difficult time in the next rounds of the national championship, given their recent results: the London team in late December suffered a setback from Wolverhampton (1:4), conceding 3 goals by the 28th minute, and before the New Year lost to Crystal Palace FC (3:1).

The Bees are traveling to Molineux with the aim of avoiding a second consecutive third-round exit – last year the Red and Whites were knocked out of the tournament by West Ham. Since beating Sunderland AFC in the 2005-06 season, the Londoners have never knocked a Premier League side out of the FA Cup.

In the EPL, the Bees are not performing well on home soil, ranking only 17th in the league in this respect and collecting 7 points out of a possible 27.

Brentford will be missing a number of players this week, with main striker Bryan Mbeumo, defenders Aaron Hickey and Rico Henry and forward Kevin Schade injured. In the absence of Mbeumo (7 goals and 3 assists) and Yoane Wissa (4 goals), Frenchman Neil Maupay (2 goals and 3) will take responsibility for creativity in attack. With center-back Ben Mee also suspended, Thomas Frank will enlist the help of the returning Vitaly Janelt.

Ivan Toney is back to the game after 8 months of disqualification

Despite the problems in the Premier League for the visitors, the hosts will not get past their opponents without a good fight. Brentford know how to get together at the right moment and pull the game out. 

Among the good news is the return of the team’s forward Ivan Toney, who was suspended for eight months due to betting. Now he is the main candidate to strengthen the Arsenal FC attack, last season the player scored 20 goals only in the Premier League, and a total of 35.

The player’s ban ends very soon on the 16th of January. The England Football Federation originally requested a 15-month suspension, but it was reduced first to 11 and then to eight months. The investigation revealed that the player had bet on football but not on his team’s matches, unlike Sandro Tonali.

Toney can play already in the next round of the EPL with Nottingham Forest FC on the 20th of January. The 21st round is divided into two parts, one half of the teams will play this week, and the other half, including Brentford, next week. This is how the English Championship gives the players a rest instead of a full winter break. However, the workload will be greater for those who have not yet been knocked out of the FA Cup and League Cup. 

Wolverhampton form guide: D-L-W-W-W-D

Brentford form guide: L-L-L-L-L-D

Wolverhampton vs Brentford Head-To-Head Record:

• April 15, 2023: Wolverhampton 2 – 0 Brentford (Premier League);
• December 27, 2023: Brentford 1 – 4 Wolverhampton (Premier League);
• January 5, 2024: Brentford 1 – 1 Wolverhampton (FA Cup).

Wolverhampton vs Brentford Predicted XI:

Wolverhampton’s possible starting lineup (3-4-2-1): Sa; Kilman, Toti, S. Bueno; Semedo, Doyle, Bellegarde, Doherty; Sarabia, Cunha, Neto.

Brentford’s possible starting lineup (3-5-2): Flekken; Zanka, Collins, Pinnock; Roerslev, Jensen, Janelt, Dasilva, Lewis-Potter; Yarmolyuk; Maupay.

Statistical preview of the match Wolverhampton vs Brentford:

• Wolves’ First XI average age is 27.0 years, Brentford’s First XI average age is 27.0 years.
• The total value of the Wolves squad is 317 mln euros, while the total of the Bees is 397 mln euros.
• Andy Madley has been appointed as the center referee. The referee has already served 15 games this season, showing an average of 4.6 Yellow Cards and also whistles 25 fouls per game. 
• Brentford are winless in their last 6 matches.
• Wolverhampton have not lost in 6 of their last 8 matches.
• Wolverhampton are unbeaten in their last 5 matches against this opponent.
• Brentford conceded an average of 2.20 goals per game and scored an average of 0.80 goals per game in their last 5 games.
• In the last 5 games Wolverhampton conceded an average of 1.20 goals per game and scored an average of 2.00 goals per game.

What has been said before the match:

Gaffer of the Wolves Gary O’Neil ahead of the FA Cup replay:

“I understand that the fans will be extremely excited about that game if we can manage to beat Brentford. I was desperate to beat Brentford anyway, so it hasn’t added anything for me. I was desperate to get to the fourth round, as you saw with the team selection and the way we approached the first game with ten men.”

“We really want to progress as far as we can in the FA Cup. It’s an important competition, but Brentford will be an extremely difficult test. They can frustrate teams well on the road, the 5-3-2 that Thomas Frank is very good at utilizing. They do it very well, so it’ll be a tough test, especially as we’re slightly down on numbers. I’d love to take the team to play West Bromwich Albion and I’m sure the fans would enjoy it as well.”

“Tomorrow will be another test and we’ll need it again and we’ll need it again next week at Brighton. It’s something you constantly keep working on and trying to improve, and make sure there’s no cracks. There was uncertainty in the summer with the manager and financial situation, and some unsettled players.

“A lot of work has gone into trying to settle that down firstly and create a group that is fully together. We’re well on the way and I’m really proud of the lads and what they’ve managed to do so far. There have been large spells in games where we’ve looked like a really together team, which is really positive from them, considering the noises that were around pre-season.”

Wolverhampton vs Brentford Prediction:

Wolverhampton feels absolutely splendid in their home walls suffering only two defeats in the season. Not only Chelsea, but also Tottenham and even Manchester City are among the sufferers. In 6 out of 10 matches at Molineux Stadium Wolves have netted at least 2 goals, which brings the average number of goals scored at home to 1.6. The team is on a 3-match winning streak in the EPL, and the last match against the Bees 11 days ago perfectly reflects what we should expect in the FA Cup replay: Wolves, without their vital player in the center of the pitch, were able to comfortably secure a draw at the Gtech Community Stadium, and they didn’t look any worse. 

Now Brentford are set to take a tough trip to the West Midlands. And there is little reason to believe that the result will be positive for them: the Bees have been very poor away in the 23/24 campaign, picking up only 7 points from 9 EPL matches (the 4th worst away form in the league). On average, Gary O’Neil’s men concede 1.4 goals per 90 minutes on the road. And the form of the team is close to catastrophic: only 1 win from the last 8 matches in the Premier League, and that was against outsider Luton Town. 

We expect the Wolves to progress to the next round of the FA Cup without too much trouble, even despite the heavier blow to the Orange and Blacks in terms of player availability, which is particularly highlighted by the return of Ivan Toney and the departure for the Asian Cup of Hee-chan Hwang.

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers will progress to the next FA Cup round – Yes.

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