Preview: Brentford vs Everton - prediction, team news, lineups

Two European-chasing Premier League teams level on points will lock horns at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as seventh-placed Brentford play host to eighth-placed Everton.

Six goals were scored in the reverse fixture between these two sides at the beginning of this year, with the Bees winning 4-2 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Match preview

Since losing 2-0 at home to Brighton at the end of February, Brentford have put together a four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, but they have drawn each of their last three matches against Bournemouth, Wolves and Leeds United.

The Bees’ goalless stalemate at Elland Road prior to the international break highlighted their recent lack of a cutting edge in front of goal; they have now failed to score in three of their last five league outings and generated a meagre 0.46 xG from just two shots on target against Leeds.

Head coach Keith Andrews has admitted that it will take a “mammoth effort” from his players to remain in the European qualifications positions. Brentford currently occupy seventh spot in the table, sitting three points behind Liverpool in fifth but only four points above Bournemouth down in 13th spot.

Brentford, who have never qualified for European competition before, return to the Gtech Community Stadium this weekend where they have accumulated 26 of their 46 Premier League points this term (W7 D5 L3). However, they have failed to win any of their last four home matches (D2 L2).

The Bees ended a six-game winless run against Everton (D3 L3) when they prevailed in the aforementioned six-goal thriller on Merseyside in January. They are now looking to win back-to-back league games against the Toffees for the first time since they competed in the old Division One between 1938 and 1946.

Since gameweek 19 in the Premier League (end of December), only leaders Arsenal (28) and third-placed Man United (26) have picked up more points than Everton (21 - W6 D3 L4), with David Moyes’s side winning three of their last four games (L1) and scoring eight goals in the process.

Back-to-back wins over Newcastle (3-2) and Burnley (2-0) were followed by a 2-0 loss at Arsenal in which they conceded both goals from the 89th minute onwards. However, the Toffees returned to winning ways with a statement 3-0 victory over Chelsea at the Hill Dickinson Stadium three weeks ago.

A first European campaign since 2017-18 remains firmly in sight for a resurgent Everton outfit, who can climb into the top six - and closer to the Champions League positions (top five) - with a win over one of their European-chasing rivals Brentford this weekend.

Ranked joint-fourth in the Premier League form table across the last 10 games (W5 D2 L3), Everton have collected more points on the road (24) than on home soil (22) so far this season, while only Arsenal (48) have accumulated more top-flight points on their travels than the Toffees (41) since Moyes returned to the club in January 2025.

Everton are also unbeaten in their last three Premier League visits to Brentford (W1 D2), though they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their previous four away matches with the Bees in the division, conceding exactly one goal on each occasion.

Brentford Premier League form:

Brentford form (all competitions):

Everton Premier League form:

Team News

Brentford will be without injured quartet Rico Henry (thigh), Fabio Carvalho, Antoni Milambo and Josh Dasilva (all knee), while Aaron Hickey (thigh), Vitaly Janelt (ankle) and Mikkel Damsgaard (knee) will all be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Andrews may revert to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins linking arms at centre-back as Michael Kayode and Keane Lewis-Potter operate as full-backs. Jordan Henderson, Yehor Yarmolyuk and Mathias Jensen, meanwhile, are all set to continue in midfield.

Star striker Igor Thiago scored a hat-trick in the reverse fixture against Everton, and his next Premier League goal will be his 20th of the season; Ivan Toney (2022-23) and Bryan Mbeumo (2024-25) are the only two Brentford players to have previously reached this landmark.

As for Everton, Jack Grealish (foot) remains sidelined, and Carlos Alcaraz (unspecified) is a doubt, while there is hope that Iliman Ndiaye will be fit to start after withdrawing from Senegal duty during the international break with a foot problem.

Moyes will consider recalled Jarrad Branthwaite at either centre-back or left-back, but he may be tempted to stick with a back four of Jake O’Brien, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane and Vitaliy Mykolenko after keeping a clean sheet last time out.

After netting a brace against Chelsea, Beto will hope to continue as the central striker ahead of Thierno Barry, while Idrissa Gueye is set to be joined in centre-midfield by newly-capped England international James Garner, who ranks second in the Premier League this season for tackles made (93) and interceptions (50).

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Yarmolyuk, Henderson; Ouattara, Jensen, Schade; Thiago

Everton possible starting lineup:

Pickford; O'Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Beto

We say: Brentford 1-1 Everton

A closely-contest battle between two direct teams could be in store this weekend; Everton (684) and Brentford (626) are the only two PL sides this season to have won 600+ aerial duels, while also ranking among the top four clubs for long passes played (Brentford, 1,801 – Everton, 1,648).

The Toffees were carved open far too easily in January’s reverse fixture, but a newfound solidity in recent weeks could see them frustrate a Brentford attack that has lacked its usual cutting edge of late and has struggled to grind out positive results on home soil. A score draw could be on the cards this time around.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.