Brentford vs Arsenal preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

• Over 1.5 goals

• Arsenal to win

• Arsenal over 5.5 corners

Arsenal’s lead could have been cut to three points by the time the ball is kicked at the Gtech stadium on Thursday if Manchester City beat Fulham. Therefore, anything but a win would be less than ideal for the Gunners.

Arsenal will not expect to have it all their own way against their European-chasing hosts, though, especially as Brentford return to their headquarters on the back of two tremendous away days at Aston Villa and Newcastle United.

Andrews's 10 men somehow left Villa Park with a 1-0 triumph under their belts before stunning the Magpies 3-2 in gameweek 25. Keith Andrews has defied expectations in his debut campaign as manager, with his side currently sitting seventh in the standings. 

Much of the Bees’ resurgence has been down to the form of Igor Thiago, who has netted 17 Premier League goals, four shy of current top scorer Erling Haaland.

However, Brentford may actually not welcome a return to their own turf, considering they have won five of their last six away games in all competitions. In contrast, they have prevailed in just two of their last five at home, have failed to score in two of their last three at the Gtech Community Stadium, and are also facing another strange and spooky negative omen.

Brentford have only been beaten in back-to-back Premier League home games once since the start of the 2024-25 season, but the first in that sequence was a 2-0 defeat to Forest, and the second? Their loss to Arsenal.

Unbeaten in nine straight meetings against Brentford, Mikel Arteta’s boys have dominated this fixture to a large degree and have every reason to be optimistic about coming away with maximum points. They won the reverse fixture 2-0 at the Emirates.

Fabio Carvalho, Josh Dasilva and Antoni Milambo are all out with knee injuries and will not feature for Brentford. However, Kevin Schade is back available after serving a one-game suspension against Newcastle last time out.

Neither Martin Odegaard (unspecified) nor Bukayo Saka (hip) were in the Arsenal matchday squad during the visit of Sunderland, and it is still not clear whether either man will return for the London derby.

Two definite absentees for Arsenal are Max Dowman (ankle) and Mikel Merino (foot). Leandro Trossard has emerged as a doubt with the suspected calf issue he sustained last weekend.

Gabriel Martinelli is primed and ready to take Trossard's place, though, while Viktor Gyokeres will no doubt displace Gabriel Jesus after his double against Sunderland, which made him the Premier League player with the most goals in all competitions since the turn of the year (6).

Brentford: Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Ajer, Henry; Janelt, Henderson; Ouattara, Jensen, Lewis-Potter; Thiago

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Havertz, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli

Brentford have won six of their last nine Premier League games, second only to Arsenal in that period. Keith Andrews' team will have no problem sitting in a deep defensive shell on Thursday, absorbing pressure in the hope of slowing their opponents down until the nerves set in, then spring on the break.

However, a rejuvenated Gunners attack, plus the strength of their bench, should be able to exploit any gaps left open by their London rivals and keep Man City at bay for a little while longer.

Correct score prediction: Brentford 0-2 Arsenal