Preview: Brentford vs Arsenal – Prediction, Team News & Line-ups

The Gtech Community Stadium will host an all-Premier League Carabao Cup third-round encounter on Wednesday evening as Brentford take on Arsenal in a midweek London derby.

The Gunners are huge favourites to come out on top in the derby showdown, and fans interested in attending the game can buy Arsenal tickets at SeatsNet.com for competitive prices from other fans.

Arsenal enter the tournament at this stage after finishing second in the Premier League last term, while the Bees saw off a scare from Newport County in the second round, securing victory on penalties.

Brentford head into the EFL clash on the back of a damning 3-1 defeat to last season’s relegation survivors Everton who had failed to register a win in the 2023/24 campaign prior to Saturday’s showdown.

Returning to haunt his former club, Everton defender James Tarkowski orchestrated Brentford’s downfall after bagging a goal and an assist as the Toffees emerged from the capital with a shocking victory.

Mathias Jensen had initially cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure’s opener with a fine strike across Jordan Pickford’s goal.

Having set up the opening goal, Tarkowski put his name on the score sheet, rising highest to meet a corner in the second half before Dominic Calvert-Lewin banished his recent injury woes with a third for the Toffees.

Everton walked away from the Gtech Community Stadium as only the third team to beat Brentford on their turf since the start of the year.

Brentford have endured a mediocre start to their third top-flight campaign registering home draws against Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth, and Crystal Palace.

Last month’s 3-0 win over Fulham represents the solitary victory for Thomas Frank’s side so far, which leaves them 13th in the Premier League rankings after picking up six points from six games.

The only positive for Brentford from last weekend’s setback was Jensen’s goal, which stretched their goalscoring streak on home soil to 14 games since suffering a 1-0 defeat to West Ham United in a January FA Cup clash.

They will be keen to halt their recent run of uninspiring cup results when Arsenal storm the Gtech, but the Gunners will also have a point to prove following a captivating 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.

Mikel Arteta’s men were pegged back twice by a Spurs side that refused to be beaten in what proved to be an end-to-end North London derby showdown, with both sides ultimately settling for a share of the spoils.

Cristian Romero emerged as Spurs’ Achilles heel on more than one occasion after deflecting Bukayo Saka’s curler into his own net before giving away a penalty, which the Englishman converted expertly.

However, on both occasions, Spurs refused to throw in the towel. Ange Postecoglou’s revitalised Lilywhites fought back as James Maddison and Son Heung-Min combined twice to earn a rare point at the Emirates.

Arteta was left to rue untimely injuries to key players, with Declan Rice the latest casualty after picking up a knock in the first half. An individual error from his replacement, Jorginho, gifted Tottenham their second goal.

While the Gunners would have preferred to emerge from the mouth-watering clash victorious, the draw extends their unbeaten run to seven games across all competitions this term.

The two-time EFL Cup winners will be keen to go deep into the Carabao Cup tournament this season after suffering a third-round elimination at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion last term.

Arsenal’s most recent visit to Brentford saw them emerge victorious with a 3-0 scoreline, while the only previous Carabao Cup meeting between both sides ended with Unai Emery’s Gunners easing to a 3-1 success.

Match Preview

Brentford

Brentford head into the midweek action on the back of consecutive defeats against Newcastle United and Everton, while they have now gone four league games without a win.

Frank’s side could do with a morale-boosting victory against Arsenal, and they can be optimistic about their chances of thwarting the Gunners, having lost just one of their last nine EFL Cup games at home (W5, D3).

The midweek match also presents the Bees with a chance to exact revenge on Arsenal, who ran away 3-1 winners in the 2018/19 edition of this fixture at the Emirates.

Arsenal

Having preserved their unbeaten start to the season, the Gunners will hope to translate their impressive form to the domestic cup tournament despite their disappointing result over the weekend.

Their 3-1 defeat to Brighton at this stage last season remains a sour memory, but they can take solace from the fact that they have never been eliminated from the EFL Cup third round in consecutive campaigns before.

Additionally, Arsenal boasts a solid record against Brentford, with just one defeat in their last eight meetings across all competitions (W5, D2), which came in their first-ever Premier League visit to the Gtech in 2021.

Team News

Brentford cannot seem to catch a break on the injury front, with Kevin Schade tweaking a groin muscle while warming up at the weekend.

It is unclear how long he will spend in the treatment room, and his setback comes after the Bees lost Rico Henry to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which will rule him out for the remainder of the season.

Schade and Henry are the latest additions to a long list of Brentford absentees which includes Shandon Baptiste, Ben Mee, Mikkel Damsgaard, and Josh Dasilva.

Ivan Toney continues to serve his eight-month ban, while Neal Maupay is cup-tied, having represented Everton in their second-round success over Doncaster Rovers.

Arsenal face a similar problem as their London counterparts, with Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard confined to the treatment room with concerning injury problems.

The duo joins Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber, and Gabriel Martinelli in the treatment room, while Aaron Ramsdale should be handed a start with David Raya unable to feature against his parent club.

Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Cedric Soares and the fit-again Mohamed Elneny are in line for a rare start.

Brentford potential starting line-up:

(4-3-3): Thomas Strakosha; Mads Roerslev, Zanka, Kristoffer Ajer, Aaron Hickey; Frank Onyeka, Vitaly Janelt, Saman Ghoddos; Keane Lewis-Potter, Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa.

Arsenal potential starting line-up:

(4-3-3): Aaron Ramsdale; Cedric Soares, William Saliba, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu; Kai Havertz, Mohamed Elneny, Jorginho; Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe.

We say: Brentford 1-2 Arsenal

Brentford can be relied upon to ripple the net on home turf, while a surprise result is not beyond the realm of possibility, considering they could be facing Arsenal’s team B.

However, while the Gunners are expected to heavily shuffle their pack, the players coming into the starting XI should have the quality to put their capital neighbours to the sword.