Brentford face Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday evening (7.30pm kick-off BST) in their final pre-season friendly ahead of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
The Bundesliga side visit Gtech Community Stadium nine days before the Bees travel to Nottingham Forest.
Analysis, team news, match officials and more. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the fixture.
Secure your seat for Friday's game against Gladbach now.
Pre-match analysis
Stephen Gillett, Playmaker Stats: Entertainment expected when Bees return to the Gtech
Brentford's pre-season prep will ramp up another notch for their friendly outing against Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach at Gtech Community Stadium this Friday - and last season's stats suggest the goalkeepers involved could be in for a busy evening!
Bundesliga expert Ronan Murphy has predicted a high-scoring draw, and he may be on the money given that both sides ceded plenty of shots in their respective divisions last season.
Only Southampton (17.9) conceded more shots-per-game than the Bees (17.0) in the Premier League, while Gladbach (17.2) allowed their opposition more shots-per-game on average than any other team in the Bundesliga in 2024/25.
Given that there is an art to inviting poor quality shots, which have a low probability of finding the net, such stats can be taken with a pinch of salt - but the numbers suggest there will be no shortage of action at both ends.
Brentford enter the contest fresh from a 1-0 success over west London rivals QPR last weekend, the Bees' new captain Nathan Collins underlining the danger he can pose in attacking situations with the decisive goal at Loftus Road.
Last season, Collins notched twice in the Premier League - versus his former club Wolves and Newcastle - and the Irishman's deft header from Michael Kayode's in-swinging cross hinted at his potential to add even further goals to his game.
The centre-back ranked second in the top flight for aerials won last season, only behind Newcastle's Dan Burn, and there is undoubtedly scope for Brentford's defensive rock to become more of an offensive powerhouse: the likes of Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix (27) and Nottingham Forest's Nikola Milenković (25) taking considerably more shots than Collins (14) from set-pieces in the Premier League last season, for example.
There were plenty of positives for Bees head coach Keith Andrews to take from the warm-up win against the Hoops. Brazilian striker Igor Thiago looked sharp during his 64 minutes on the pitch, and a lively cameo off the bench from Romelle Donovan showcased the energy and invention that has seen the teenager force his way into Brentford's first-team picture.
Thiago's mobility and pressing intensity bode well for the season ahead, and one interesting sub-plot ahead of the clash against Gladbach is the extent to which the Bees will look to win possession in their opponent's half.
Last season, only Arsenal (129) won more tackles in the attacking third than Brentford (121) in the Premier League, and the Bees also ranked sixth in the top flight for high turnovers, with 319.
It will therefore be interesting to see if the Bees use Thiago's obvious power and pace to up the pressure on opposition defences.
For Gladbach, it appears likely that Tim Kleindienst - the German club's top scorer last season with 16 Bundesliga goals - will miss the encounter through injury, and this will provide their manager Gerardo Seoane with a valuable opportunity to blood new signings and experiment with his attacking options.
Summer loan signing Haris Tabaković will offer a goal threat, and the Bees will need to carefully monitor another new face at Gladbach this term: Shūto Machino.
The Japan international hit 11 goals in the German top tier for relegated Holsten Kiel last season and, in addition to outperforming his expected goals by an impressive +4.5, Machino hit five of his Bundesliga strikes from set-pieces to underline his potency from dead-ball situations.
Shots are likely to pepper both goals on Friday, with real intensity expected from both teams out of possession, and the fixture should offer clues as to what lies ahead for two sides aiming to build on 10th-placed finishes last season.
Scout Report
Dan Long, Sky Sports: Gladbach aiming for European football return
Seoane’s first season at Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2023/24, after he replaced Daniel Farke, almost ended in disaster.
With just seven Bundesliga wins all season, only a point separated them from 16th - and the relegation play-offs. Despite surviving by the skin of their teeth, it was still their lowest finish in 14 seasons.
Nevertheless, Sky Germany reported the club’s hierarchy retained faith in the former Switzerland Under-21 international ahead of the second year of his three-year contract.
Four defeats from the first six did not exactly make for the best start the following campaign, but Seoane’s side returned from the October international break refreshed and the points total started to build quickly. By Christmas, they were eighth, only three points behind Eintracht Frankfurt in third.
Gladbach started 2025 with losses to Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen, which saw them drop to 11th, but it proved to be a blip, one perhaps expected given the strength of the opposition.
Granted, the fixture list was kinder, but between 25 January and 29 March, they won six of their nine league games. By the start of April, they were fifth and potentially on course to qualify for Europe for the first time since they reached the Champions League last 16 in 2020/21.
That said, the gap between them and Werder Bremen in 12th was still just nine points, so keeping the momentum was imperative. For whatever reason, however, that was a step too far. They picked up just two points from the final seven league games to - for the third season in four - finish 10th.
Four of their five defeats in that period frustratingly came by a one-goal margin, even against Borussia Dortmund and Freiburg, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“Overall, we’re extremely disappointed we weren’t able to give the fans a home win to round off the season, and that we couldn’t achieve our goal of finishing in the top half of the table,” Seoane said after the final-day loss to Wolfsburg.
Gladbach will be under pressure to re-establish themselves as European contenders this season.
In the Dugout
Gerardo Seoane
Swiss-born with Spanish parents, Seoane came through the ranks at hometown club Luzern and made his way to the first team before a playing career that took in spells at Sion, Deportivo La Coruña B, Bellinzona, Aarau and Grasshoppers, before a fairytale return to Luzern, where he retired in 2010.
After an interim spell in charge at the club in 2013, he managed Luzern II between 2014 and 2018, before taking over the first team following the departure of former Liverpool defender Markus Babbel.
A total of 10 wins from 17 games in charge earned him the job at Young Boys, where he enjoyed major success, winning three successive Swiss Super League titles and one Swiss Cup in 2019/20.
His progression continued in July 2021 when he took over at Bayer Leverkusen and, in his first season, guided the club to third - their best finish in seven seasons. But he was sacked early on in the 2022/23 season, with Leverkusen having collected only five points from their first eight Bundesliga games.
Nine months later, in July 2023, he was appointed Borussia Mönchengladbach head coach, replacing current Leeds boss Daniel Farke. His contract runs until the summer of 2026.
The Gameplan
With Ronan Murphy, Bundesliga and European football pundit for Sony Sports Network
Ronan Murphy, Bundesliga and European football pundit for Sony Sports Network, explains how Friday's opponents are likely to set up against the Bees.
"Gladbach have been playing a 4-2-3-1 in pre-season, carrying over this approach from last season where they finished 10th in the Bundesliga," said Murphy.
"Tim Kleindienst is still recovering from injury so could miss out again, with new signing Haris Tabaković expected to start as the lone striker.
"Gladbach's opponents so far in pre-season would have been seen as lesser opposition, so the Foals have largely looked to control the ball and counter attack quickly, using their wide attackers to cross into Tabaković.
"Gerardo Seoane has been trying to play a high line in the friendlies but reverted to a lower block in the second half against Nürnberg and could end up doing the same against Brentford.
"Shūto Machino could be used out wide rather than through the middle and will look to impress his new team-mates and head coach."
Read our full interview with Ronan Murphy here.
Match Officials
Hooper in charge for Gladbach visit
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistants: Adrian Holmes and Simon Long
Fourth official: Tom Neild
Simon Hooper will be the man in the middle for Friday evening's pre-season friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The 43-year-old has overseen 35 competitive Brentford games across League Two, League One, the Championship and Premier League, as well as in the Carabao Cup.
Four of those fixtures came last term; the 4-2 win against Newcastle United plus 1-1 draws with West Ham, Everton and, most recently, Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.
Last Time Out
QPR 0 Brentford 1 (Pre-season friendly, 2 August 2025)
Nathan Collins celebrated being named Brentford's new captain by scoring the only goal of the game in a west London derby victory against QPR at Loftus Road last weekend.
The Republic of Ireland international glanced a left-footed Michael Kayode cross into the bottom corner within the opening two minutes.
Fábio Carvalho, Rico Henry, Antoni Milambo and Myles Peart-Harris all had chances to extend the advantage but Collins' goal was the difference in a dominant display for Keith Andrews' side.