After a long 74-year wait, Brentford are finally back in the top-flight. The 2021/22 campaign will be the first time the Bees have played in the Premier League, having won promotion from the Championship via the play-offs last season. They are owned by Matthew Brenham and coached by Thomas Frank.

Since taking over in 2018, Thomas Frank has turned Brentford from a below average Championship side, into a nearly unstoppable one. The Bees have played the 4-3-3 for thirty-seven of their forty-eight Championship league or playoff games this season. The West London club played some free-flowing football in the Championship and scored the most number of goals. Brentford has rarely had a consistent lineup in consecutive matches. Some of the regulars in the team include the big man up top – Ivan Toney, Spanish goalkeeper David Raya Martin, and 27-year-old centre-back Ethan Pinnock. Their English striker, Ivan Toney finished as the highest goals scorer in the Championship season with 33 goals to his name.

Brentford FC are going to face a tough start in their Premier League campaign when they will host Arsenal on August 14. The Bees are competing in the Premier League for the first time ever the following promotion from the Championship last term and they also host fellow big six side Liverpool within their first six games.

• FIRST SIX FIXTURES: ARS | CRY | AVL | BHA | WOL | LIV
• POSSIBLE TURNING POINT: LIV (GW6)

Goal Keeper: David Raya is yet another goalkeeper listed at £4.5m. The 25 years old Spaniard kept 17 clean sheets in his last 45 appearances in the 2020/21 championship season.  As a regular starter, David Raya could be a good backup budget pick for the FPL managers.

Defense: Brentford plays a vertical style of football that condenses central areas, in order to expose more space out wide for the likes of wing-backs to exploit. Their defenders are quite robust and also aerially dominant, and this allows The Bees to have more threats from set-pieces than just the big man up top. Their high-line can also get them into trouble, such as throwing so many numbers forward on a set-piece and failing to stop a subsequent counter attack from the opponents. Their thirty years old CB Pontus Jansson (£4.5m) played almost all the matches (26) at the end of the season. Their other center back option Ethan Pinnock (£4.5m) has made 42 championship appearances and scored 1 goal and 1 assist for his club last season.

Midfield: All of Brentford’s midfield fantasy assets are priced under £6.0m. Brentford’s main midfield strength set-piece taker Bryan Mbeumo and Mathias Jensen are available at £5.5m and £5.0m respectively. Bryan Mbeumo is the standout mid-priced pick. The winger amassed eight goals and ten assists in 37 Championship starts. Mathias Jensen meanwhile likes to hit the occasional longer pass, is more interested in crossing and chance creating. Spanish midfielder Sergi Canos (£5.5m) is more creative one, he is also having his best season from a goal-scoring, chance-creating perspective, with 9 goals and 8 assists. In central midfield, The Bees have highly rated midfielder Josh Dasilva (£5.5m). He can often be more of a natural progressor. Christian Norgaard (£5.0m) on the other hand, often helps the centre-backs circulate the ball around.

Forward: The Bees scored 79 goals in their 46 league matches, more than any other Championship side. Ivan Toney enters FPL at a less palatable £6.5m. The penalty-taking forward bagged 31 goals in 45 Championship appearances in 2020/21, assisting a further 10 of the Bees’ strikes. Toney’s aerial threat and tall frame can be difficult for opposition teams to contend with. Their other forward Forss (£5.5m) only started in 10 matches and was subbed in 32 matches. He had 10 goals in the last season.

Set Piece Takers: The Bees are heavily depends on Ivan Toney’s penalty taking ability. Jenson is their other regular set piece taker.

• Penalties: Toney, Josh Da Silva.
• Direct Free Kicks: Jensen, Toney, Mbeumo.
• Corners: Jensen, Mbeumo.

FPL Prospect: David Raya (£4.5m), Bryan Mbeumo (£5.5m), Sergi Canos (£5.0m), Ivan Toney (£6.5m)

Player To Avoid: Brentford’s Defenders.

Must Pick: Ivan Toney (£6.5m)

By Ahmed ShanTonu

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