Brentford continue their tour of Germany with a fixture against Bundesliga side Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon.
While the Premier League side have endured a mixed summer thus far, Wolfsburg have posted victories from their two most recent outings.
Match preview
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Although there may be a lingering disappointment over the failure to retain the services of Christian Eriksen, Brentford supporters have every reason to be excited for the new season.
On the back of their 13th-placed finish in their first-ever year in the Premier League, the additions of Thomas Strakosha, Aaron Hickey and Keane Lewis-Potter will provide head coach Thomas Frank with added quality.
Such was the level of Brentford's performances in 2021-22 that there is no guarantee that the fresh faces will immediately hold down a regular spot, but there is now a greater strength-in-depth.
In terms of pre-season results, it has been somewhat of a mixed bag, the only win coming against Boreham Wood on July 9.
Since then, a 2-1 reverse against Stuttgart has been followed by a 2-2 draw with Strasbourg, the Bees twice coming from behind in the latter.
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As for Wolfsburg, a new era is starting for the German side with former Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovac having been appointed as the club's new head coach.
With the club having only finished in 12th position last season, things can only get better this time around, and Wolfsburg have made a number of notable additions.
Mattias Svanberg and Jakub Kaminski are the standout buys, the Swedish midfielder and Polish winger bringing something different in their respective areas of the pitch.
Since the Volkswagen Cup, which involved two matches lasting 45 minutes, Wolfsburg have scored 11 goals in wins over WSG Tirol and Mechelen.
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Team News
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Brentford goalkeeper Strakosha could be handed an opportunity between the sticks after remaining as an unused substitute against Strasbourg.
Lewis-Potter will also hope to come into the team having netted for the Bees as a second-half replacement in the previous game.
With the players who started that fixture getting no more than 60 minutes under their belts, Frank could name a similar XI.
Kovac may take the same approach when it comes to selecting his Wolfsburg side, the Croatian having been left unhappy with how the team finished the last outing.
Josuha Guilavogui and Omar Marmoush are pushing for a recall as they bid to impress Kovac upon their returns from loan spells elsewhere.
Svanberg should also come into consideration after linking up with the squad over the past week.
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteel; Baku, Bornauw, van de Ven, Roussillon; Arnold, Wimmer, Marmoush, Brekalo; L. Nmecha, Waldschmidt
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Strakosha; Hickey, Sorensen, Jansson, Henry, Jensen, Onyeka, Janelt, Mbeumo, Lewis-Potter, Toney
We say: Wolfsburg 2-1 Brentford
If Brentford's recent form is anything to go by, this game should be competitive from the opening whistle. Nevertheless, we feel that the home side will most likely have the edge in several departments, leading us to predict a narrow win for the Bundesliga team.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
