Brentford defied pre-season expectations to finish 13th in their debut season in the Premier League in the 2021-22 campaign.
A strong start and spring period proved enough to move them away from any realistic relegation danger, but manager Thomas Frank will be aware of the so-called second season syndrome which has plagued teams such as his in the past.
Losing Christian Eriksen, who made such a positive impact after signing on a short-term contract in January, to Manchester United was a bitter pill for the Bees to swallow this summer, but the additions of Keane Lewis-Potter, Aaron Hickey, Ben Mee and Thomas Strakosha have clearly improved their squad depth.
Furthermore, two wins and clean sheets against Brighton & Hove Albion and Real Betis to close out pre-season in a positive fashion should boost confidence ahead of this weekend's trip to Leicester City in the Premier League's opening weekend.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look ahead to Brentford's 2022-23 campaign, including predictions, summer signings and their star player.
FIXTURES
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After heading to Leicester City and hosting Manchester United in their opening two matches, Brentford fans will have a keen eye on visiting West London rivals Fulham on August 20, after the Cottagers gained promotion to join the Bees in the Premier League.
The reverse fixture against Marco Silva's side comes on March 4 at the Brentford Community Stadium, while they host Chelsea on October 20 before heading to Stamford Bridge on April 26.
Indeed, Frank will have a watchful eye over his side's incredibly difficult end to the season, with Brentford facing all four of England's Champions League representatives - Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City - in their final six games.
Click here to see all of Brentford's 2022-23 fixtures
SUMMER SIGNINGS
In
Keane Lewis-Potter (£17.1m, Hull City)
Aaron Hickey (£14.9m, Bologna)
Thomas Strakosha (free, Lazio)
Ben Mee (free, Burnley)
Out
Marcus Forss (£3.2m, Middlesbrough)
Dominic Thompson (undisclosed, Blackpool)
Christian Eriksen (free, Manchester United)
Zanka (free, unattached)
Julian Jeanvier (free, unattached)
Total spent to date: £32m
Total received to date: £3.2m
Net transfer balance: -£28.8m
SQUAD
Goalkeepers: David Raya, Thomas Strakosha
Defenders: Aaron Hickey, Mads Roerslev, Fin Stevens, Kristoffer Ajer, Pontus Jansson, Ben Mee, Mads Bech Sorensen, Charlie Goode, Ethan Pinnock, Luka Racic, Rico Henry
Midfielders: Christian Norgaard, Vitaly Janelt, Josh Dasilva, Mathias Jensen, Frank Onyeka, Shandon Baptiste, Saman Ghoddos, Sergi Canos
Forwards: Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbuemo, Yoane Wissa, Keane Lewis-Potter, Tariqe Fosu, Joel Valencia, Halil Dervisoglu
STRONGEST XI
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STAR PLAYER - Ivan Toney
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After bagging 33 goals and 10 assists in Brentford's Championship promotion season, Ivan Toney showed that he can compete at the top level, too, with 12 goals and five assists in his debut Premier League campaign.
Put simply, everything in attack goes through Toney at Brentford. His physical presence, excellent first touch and goalscoring capabilities make him irreplaceable as the focal point in Frank's side.
After a fairly slow start last season, it feels like there is even more to come from the 26-year-old at this level, although how he fares without Eriksen servicing him remains to be seen.
Still, should Toney maintain his all-round game as the Bees'one-man wrecking ball in attack, a first England call-up from Gareth Southgate may not be too far around the corner.
MANAGER - Thomas Frank
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Thomas Frank has worked serious magic since being promoted into Brentford's managerial role in October 2018.
After stabilising the team's form to secure a top-half finish in his first season in charge, the Bees fell marginally short of promotion in the following campaign after losing 2-1 to rivals Fulham in the playoff final.
Not to be deterred, the Bees went one better in the 2020-21 season by comfortably dispatching Swansea City 2-0 in the playoff final to win promotion to England's top tier for the first time since 1935.
An unbeaten April 2022 saw Frank collect his maiden Premier League Manager of the Month award before rightfully being nominated for the Manager of the Season award having guided the Bees to a highly respectable 13th-placed finish.
Much to his fans' delight, the 48-year-old looks set to stay at the Brentford Community Stadium for some time, too, having signed a three-and-a-half-year contract extension in January earlier this year. With the great Dane in charge, the Bees' future looks bright.
LAST SEASON - 13th
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While many expected Brentford to be competitive with a chance of surviving relegation, few would have predicted them from being so comfortable in doing so in the end.
The Bees' opening day 2-0 victory against Arsenal will live long in the memory having been the first Premier League match with a full capacity crowd following the COVID-19 pandemic, with goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard dumbfounding Mikel Arteta's men.
Brentford worked their magic at home once again six weeks later by twice coming from behind to hold title candidates Liverpool to a dramatic 3-3 draw, before the Premier League new boys visited Stamford Bridge in April and thrashed rivals Chelsea 4-1 in one of the shock results of the season.
Ultimately, five wins from six matches between March 5 and April 16 proved to be crucial in moving themselves away from any relegation fears, especially as that run started with Norwich City and ended with Watford, both of whom found themselves relegated to the Championship.
Attracting Eriksen, who of course had only recently fully recovered from his near-fatal cardiac arrest with Denmark at Euro 2020 the previous summer, will go down as one of the club's greatest transfer coups. The Danish playmaker was a joy to watch during his brief time at the club, but the Bees must move on now and build on a terrific campaign.
PREDICTION
Thirteenth position and a points tally of 46 has set an incredibly high bar for Brentford to match ahead of their second season in the Premier League.
However, Frank is a realist and will know matters may prove to be much more difficult this time around. Teams will know what to expect when they head to the Brentford Community Stadium, even if the Bees are incredibly tactically flexible, with an uncanny ability to switch between the 4-3-3 and 3-5-2 formations at will.
Despite missing out on the permanent signing of Eriksen, we believe that Frank's side will have just about enough to survive relegation once again, but it will likely be a much closer call this time around.
VERDICT: 17th
Brett Curtis
