Brentford v Wolves tips: Premier League best bets and preview
Wolves bid to continue their fine recent form with a trip to increasingly-leaky Brentford on Saturday. Michael Beardmore has a preview and best bets.
Football betting tips: Premier League
1pt Vitaly Janelt 1+ shots on target at 11/4 (Sky Bet)
1pt Raul Jimenez first Wolves scorer at 16/5 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt Christian Norgaard and Ruben Neves to both be shown a card at 12/1 (Sky Bet)
Two sides on contrasting recent runs of form meet at the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday as Wolves stride into the capital to take on the nose-diving Bees.
Five defeats in six have left Brentford fans anxiously worrying if they’ve accumulated enough points already to avoid being dragged into trouble at the bottom (spoiler: yes, they have enough).
Three wins and a draw in Wolves’ past four games – including a memorable victory at Old Trafford – have left Wanderers fans dreaming of Europe, just four points off the Europa League places.
But, having been stung 2-0 by the Bees at Molineux earlier this season, Wolves will not be taking their hosts for granted here, and rightly so.
Kick-off time: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
Brentford 2/1 | Draw 21/10 | Wolves 6/4
The bookies make Wolves narrow favourites here but the close proximity of the prices for the three outright outcomes indicate the result is best avoided in favour of other markets.
Fortunately, there are several nice prices out there that aid in this respect, firstly the 11/4 with Sky Bet on Brentford’s VITALY JANELT TO HAVE 1+ SHOTS ON TARGET.
The German midfielder has been in adventurous mood in recent weeks, registering eight shots across his past five games – and he has troubled the opposing goalkeeper in three of those five matches, scoring once.
Janelt has enjoyed nine on-target efforts in 17 appearances this season, better than one every two games - numbers which make those odds of 11/4 look somewhat on the large side.
In recent weeks, it’s been the back-line that has been Brentford’s problem, conceding 10 goals in their past three games – letting three in against Liverpool and Manchester United is hardly shameful but they shipped four at Southampton too.
While Wolves are hardly free-scoring, they come into this on the back of 3-0 and 3-1 wins in cup and league and their xG of 2.39 in beating Southampton in the latter game was their third highest this season.
Brentford’s recent defensive record suggests Wolves will find the net on Saturday and the price of 16/5 on RAUL JIMENEZ TO BE WOLVES’ FIRST GOALSCORER appeals hugely.
Only eight Wolves players have scored in the league this season and just six of those will likely feature here, with Romain Saiss away at the Africa Cup of Nations and Hwang Hee-chan injured.
The Mexican is easily Wolves’ likeliest avenue for a goal with Hwang and Saiss absent, and the 12/5 Bet365 offer is more in line with what his price should be, so the 16/5 is definitely worth a play on a man who takes Wanderers’ penalties too.
Finally, I can’t resist a flutter on CHRISTIAN NORGAARD AND RUBEN NEVES BOTH TO BE SHOWN A CARD at 12/1 given ultra-strict Peter Bankes has been appointed as referee.
Bankes is averaging 5.7 yellow cards per game this term and Norgaard and Neves are their teams’ worst offenders with five and six bookings respectively. Given both are 12/5 for a card individually, the double looks a nice price at 12s.
Brentford v Wolves score prediction and best bets
- Vitaly Janelt 1+ shots on target at 11/4 (Sky Bet)
- Raul Jimenez first Wolves scorer at 16/5 (Sky Bet)
- Christian Norgaard and Ruben Neves to both be shown a card at 12/1 (Sky Bet)
Score prediction: Brentford 1-1 Wolves (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct 1630 GMT (20/01/22)
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