Brentford vs Southampton predictions: Saints' poor start set to continue
- Brentford won first home game of season against Crystal Palace 2-1
- Southampton have lost their first two games
- Recommended bet: Brentford to win
Brentford can make it six points out of a possible nine at the start of the season by beating newly-promoted Southampton at home.
The Bees edged out Crystal Palace 2-1 on the opening weekend at the Gtech Community Stadium before going down 2-0 at Liverpool last time out, but they should get back to winning ways by seeing off Saints, who are yet to pick up a victory upon their return to the top flight.
Team news
After making wholesale changes for the Carabao Cup win over Colchester, Brentford boss Thomas Frank is set to largely revert back to the side that lost at Liverpool.
Ivan Toney was left out for the defeat at Anfield as speculation continues over his future and it is unclear if the striker will come back into the fold for the visit of Southampton.
The Bees have signed young Brazilian forward Gustavo Nunes this week and he could be handed an immediate debut, but Igor Thiago, Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey and Josh Dasilva all remain out injured.
Southampton will hope keeper Aaron Ramsdale can be registered in time to play following his £25million move from Arsenal with the England man set to replace Alex McCarthy in goal for the visitors.
Saints boss Russell Martin also rang the changes for the midweek cup win over Cardiff, so he will bring back the majority of the players who have lined up in the league matches so far, although Cameron Archer could keep his place in the side after scoring twice against the Bluebirds.
Ross Stewart remains doubtful for the visitors, but Kamaldeen Sulemana is set to be available after recovering from injury.
The stats
Brentford have won the last three Premier League meetings between the two sides without conceding.
Stretching back into last season, the Bees have lost just one of their last seven home league games.
Southampton had 20 shots in their defeat at Newcastle on the opening weekend but still failed to score.
Saints also drew a blank at home to Nottingham Forest last weekend when their shot total dropped down to just five.
Prediction
Brentford should have too much for newly-promoted Saints, who are still searching for their first goal and points of the new season.
Martin's side were wasteful against Newcastle in their first game when having a man advantage following Fabian Schar's sending-off and then they struggled to create much against Forest.
The Bees narrowly beat Palace on the opening weekend before suffering defeat at Liverpool last time out, but they had some good moments at Anfield with the result still in the balance up until Mohamed Salah's 70th-minute goal.
They both managed wins in the Carabao Cup despite making wholesale changes and, while the speculation over Toney's future continues to be an unwelcome distraction for Brentford, Frank's men can put that to one side and see off Saints without too many problems.
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