Brentford vs. Southampton: Prediction, Team News, and Lineups

Following their EFL Cup second-round victories, Brentford and Southampton will look to address their Premier League challenges as they face off at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

Thomas Frank's Brentford secured a win over Colchester United in midweek, recovering from their previous Premier League setback against Liverpool. Meanwhile, Southampton bounced back from their loss to Nottingham Forest with a thrilling 5-3 victory over Cardiff City.

Match preview

Ending Crystal Palace's Premier League unbeaten run on the opening weekend did not set the tone for Brentford at Anfield, where they fell to goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah either side of halftime.

Despite the defeat, there were positive takeaways for Brentford and manager Thomas Frank. Their defensive resilience limited Liverpool's clear-cut chances in the first half. In midweek, Brentford avoided a cup upset by narrowly defeating Colchester United.

A late goal by Keane Lewis-Potter just before halftime secured the win. Colchester were given a chance to equalize with a late penalty, but Brentford's stand-in goalkeeper, Hakon Valdimarsson, saved Jack Payne's attempt to preserve the victory.

Before facing a demanding September, with matches against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur flanking an EFL Cup tie with Leyton Orient, Brentford will aim for back-to-back Premier League home wins for the first time since November 2023.

The Gtech Community Stadium crowd has high expectations, given Brentford's impressive record of seven consecutive home victories against newly-promoted Premier League teams, during which they have scored at least twice in each match.

Southampton have conceded just twice in their first two Premier League matches back in the top flight, but those goals have resulted in frustrating defeats, following a loss to Nottingham Forest after an earlier defeat to Newcastle United.

Their game against Nottingham Forest at St Mary's was particularly underwhelming, with Morgan Gibbs-White's lone goal securing a narrow victory for Forest. However, Southampton’s EFL Cup opener in Cardiff was anything but dull. In a thrilling encounter, Southampton and Cardiff City shared eight goals, with Southampton taking the lead three times only to be equalized on each occasion. Ultimately, injury-time goals from Cameron Archer and James Bree ensured Southampton's progress.

Southampton's primary objective now is to secure their first Premier League points of the season, aiming to avoid losing their first three league games without scoring, a scenario not seen since the 2001-02 season.

The historical head-to-head record against Brentford suggests this could be a challenging task. Since their 4-1 victory in their opening Premier League encounter, Southampton have failed to score or gain a point against Brentford, losing their last three matches by an aggregate score of 8-0.