Football writer Alex Keble assesses each Premier League club and their prospects for the 2024/25 season.
Brentford
Brentford are in a strange kind of limbo, their fans probably finding as many reasons for pessimism as for optimism.
Securing a fourth consecutive season in the Premier League was mission accomplished last campaign, but it was far from comfortable and Thomas Frank will be concerned by their slide down to 16th, just two places above the relegation zone in the final standings.
He needs a year of stability and quiet growth if Brentford are to avoid a familiar Premier League story - tread water long enough and eventually you’ll sink. It’s a huge season ahead.
Performance last season
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
38 | -11 | 40 |
| 16 |
Brentford
BRE
|
38 | -9 | 39 |
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
38 | -18 | 32 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
38 | -33 | 26 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
38 | -37 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
38 | -69 | 16 |
FA Cup: Third round
EFL Cup: Third round
Last five seasons
| Season | League position |
|---|---|
| 2019/20 | 3rd (Championship) |
| 2020/21 | 3rd (Championship) |
| 2021/22 | 13th |
| 2022/23 | 9th |
| 2023/24 | 16th |
Best Premier League finish
Ninth: 2022/23
See: More about Brentford's history
Season aims
For a club of Brentford’s resources, safety should be considered a success, and yet Frank will be unhappy if a relegation battle breaks out again. He would love to come close to their club-record Premier League points tally of 59, although their first-season total of 46 is a more realistic target.
A strong cup run would also give fans something to cheer about. Brentford have only once got past the fourth round of the FA Cup or EFL Cup since their promotion to the top flight in 2021.
Key transfers
The signing of striker Igor Thiago for a reported £31million from Club Brugge was a minor coup for Brentford, but he has since been ruled out for several months with a knee injury sustained in his first pre-season match.
The Brazilian, who has been given the No 9 shirt, was widely seen as a replacement for Ivan Toney, whose contract expires next summer, but Toney remains at the club for now at least. Thiago is the only senior signing so far, which isn’t ideal. Brentford need refreshments to avoid stagnation.
Attacking midfielder Fabio Carvalho has arrived from Liverpool to provide extra creativity for the Bees.
Brentford's key transfers so far
| Player | Transfer Type | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Igor Thiago |  Transfer In |
Club Brugge |
| Shandon Baptiste |  Released |
- |
| Saman Ghoddos | Released |
- |
| Julian Eyestone | Transfer In |
- |
| David Raya | Transfer Out |
Arsenal |
| Thomas Strakosha | Transfer Out |
AEK Athens |
| Fabio Carvalho | Transfer In |
Liverpool |
See: Clubs' summer 2024 transfers
Tactics
Frank’s football is a pleasing mixture of Germanic hard-pressing and counter-attacks; a pragmatic yet exciting combination that has Brentford enacting pinpoint breaks drilled into muscle memory on the training ground.
Strong in the air, never afraid to go long but intelligent and progressive in how they do so, Brentford are different to their rivals in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Injury report
| Player | Injury | Latest Update |
|---|---|---|
| Rico Henry | Knee | Details |
| Aaron Hickey | - | Details |
| Josh Dasilva | Knee | Details |
| Ben Mee | Ankle | Details |
| Igor Thiago | Knee | Details |
Pre-season results & fixtures
20 July Wimbledon 2-5 Brentford Report
25 July Benfica 1-1 Brentford Report
30 July Estrela da Amadora 3-1 Brentford Report
3 Aug Watford 1-1 Brentford Report
9 Aug v Wolfsburg (H) Details
What the manager says
Thomas Frank: “Everyone should be very motivated to go into the Premier League season because you can take nothing for granted and you have to really, really look forward to it.
“That said, like with everything, even when it is the best thing in the world, when you've done it a few times you get more used to it. This is good, in a way, so you can trust yourself - but it's still important to freshen it up a little bit. That can be players, that can be drills we're changing, that can be meetings, so we have tried to do that."
Best XI (4-3-3)
Mark Flekken; Mads Roerslev, Ethan Pinnock, Nathan Collins, Rico Henry; Vitaly Janelt, Mathias Jensen, Christian Norgaard; Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney, Kevin Schade
Opening PL fixtures
Kits
See: More details at Brentford's online store