Brentford host Bournemouth at Gtech Community Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off GMT) in what is the Bees' final fixture of 2025.
Keith Andrews' side won 2-0 at Wolves last weekend, while the Cherries go into the match having drawn 1-1 with Burnley at home last time out.
Analysis, team news, match officials and more. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
Pre-match Analysis
Stephen Gillett, Playmaker Stats: Expect late drama at the Gtech
Those tempted to dash out of the Gtech early to continue their Christmas plans be warned: Brentford and Bournemouth both like to strike late.
Last season, the Cherries were unrivalled when it came to scoring goals in the dying moments of games, Andoni Iraola's side notching nine in stoppage-time alone.
While the south-coast club have retained their knack for late drama – Eli Junior Kroupi's fantastic strike in a topsy-turvy 4-4 draw with Manchester United the latest example – their hosts on Saturday have been even more ruthless as the clock ticks down.
With 11 goals after the 75th minute during the current campaign, the Bees have consistently stung opponents in the closing stages, Keane Lewis-Potter sealing all three points in the latter part of the 2-0 win over Wolves at Molineux last weekend.
Although we profile the intriguing midfield battle between Mathias Jensen and Alex Scott in this week's matchday programme, Saturday's clash will also see two of the Premier League's hottest attacking properties face off.
Alongside Manchester City's Erling Haaland, Thiago is currently one of only two players to reach double figures for goals in the Premier League this term. His 11 top-flight strikes to date have showcased the Brazilian's ability to finish clinically with either foot – and Bournemouth have suffered first-hand this season, the no.9 on target in the Bees' 2-0 Carabao Cup win over the Cherries in August.
In Antoine Semenyo, however, Bournemouth have another of the stars of the 2025/26 campaign so far. One of three players to hit 10+ goals for the Cherries last term – along with Evanilson and Justin Kluivert – the Ghana international has eight Premier League goals already to his name this season and enters this weekend's encounter fresh from finding the net against Manchester United and Burnley in his last two outings.
Thiago and Semenyo have been in scintillating form, but neither of them can compete with Bournemouth's teenage forward Kroupi when it comes to strike rate.
Still only 19, Kroupi excelled on loan last season in his native France, netting 22 goals in 30 Ligue 2 games for Lorient, and he has enjoyed a sensational maiden campaign in the Premier League. Pacy and direct, Kroupi has scored five goals for the Cherries already this term, and only Haaland (77 minutes) has a better minutes-per-goal rate than the French Under-21 international (90 minutes).
Bournemouth have evolved into one of the top flight's most intense pressing teams, and Saturday's clash is likely to be a game of cat and mouse for both sides in their own halves.
This season, the Cherries rank top for Passes Per Defensive Action (PPDA) – a metric which measures pressing intensity – and have forced 125 high turnovers, so Brentford head coach Keith Andrews will need to prepare his backline accordingly.
As two of the best counter-attacking sides in the Premier League this season, how Brentford and Bournemouth cope in transition is likely to prove crucial.
The Cherries currently lead the top tier for goals from counter attacks, with seven, but the Bees (five) are hot on their heels and pose a genuine threat on the break. Both teams' 'rest defences' will therefore need to be at their best.
Hold on to your hats and stay in your seats - an entertaining clash is on the cards.
Scout Report
Dan Long, Sky Sports: Positive signs for Bournemouth despite winless run
In recent years, it seems every time I write about how Bournemouth have been getting on before their next meeting with Brentford, the club records they have equalled or set take centre stage. But, truthfully, the continuous improvement is too impressive not to mention - so here we go again…
Last season was only the Cherries’ eighth in the Premier League. They set a new record for not only the number of wins (15), but also fewest defeats (12), most goals scored (58) and fewest goals conceded (46), not to mention most points (56) and a joint-highest finish (9th).
Qualifying for Europe still evaded them - Nottingham Forest in seventh picked up nine points more - which was sadly an inevitable consequence of recording only four wins across the last 15. But they came closer than ever before and to even be in the conversation remains unbelievable to those who were there in the dark days of 2008/09, when Bournemouth were close to relegation out of the Football League.
The success of last term shone a spotlight on the talent in Andoni Iraola’s squad, though, which meant a summer of change. With Kepa Arrizabalaga’s loan return and the sales of Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, Milos Kerkez to Liverpool and Illia Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-German, four of the first-choice back five were gone in a flash.
While the necessary replacements were found and signed, an even more key piece of business was tying down Antoine Semenyo to a new contract. The Ghana international scored 13 goals and provided seven assists in 42 games in all competitions, which reportedly attracted interest from Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham.
He may not stay at the Vitality until the end of that deal in 2030, and BBC Sport recently reported there is a £65m clause that can be activated during the first two weeks of the January transfer window. But, for the time being, Bournemouth still have their star man - and Ghana’s failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations means they did not lose the 25-year-old for the festive period.
They will be hoping that bonus can help improve fortunes over the next few weeks as results have started to dip. Five wins and three draws in the first nine had the Cherries as high as second at the start of November, but, despite a remarkable 4-4 draw against Manchester United recently, they are now eight games without a win.
The goals-per-game average has slipped from 1.78 to 1.53 – and that was aided greatly by the four they plundered in that gripping clash at Old Trafford.
But even given how their position in the table has changed significantly in just under two months, there is no huge cause for concern. Their home record is in the top 10, they have lost the fewest games of any team in the bottom half currently and there are just seven points separating them from Chelsea up in fourth.
And best of all, breaking some of the club records they set last season is still very possible. Watch this space.
In the Dugout
Andoni Iraola
A right-back by trade during his playing days, Andoni Iraola came through the ranks at Athletic Bilbao and made his debut during the 2003/04 La Liga season, following two years in the Segunda Division with Bilbao’s B team and a year with Basconia – effectively the club’s C team – before that.
Over the 10 seasons that followed his debut year, Iraola astonishingly missed only 26 league games, during which time he was part of the squad that finished as runners-up in the Copa del Rey twice, once in the Europa League and once in the Spanish Super Cup. Between 2008 and 2011, he earned seven senior caps for Spain.
He featured considerably less during 2014/15 - his final season at San Mamés – but captained Lehoiak in his final game for the club, in a third Copa del Rey final defeat, this time against Barcelona.
Iraola then signed for New York City of the MLS, where he spent 17 months, before retiring in November 2016. Just over 18 months later, he was handed his first managerial role with AEK Larnaca, but lasted only until January 2019 after winning 12 of his 29 matches in charge of the Cypriot First Division club.
That summer, he joined CD Mirandés where, in his only season, he masterminded a run to the semi-final of the Copa del Rey for only the second time in the club’s history.
In August 2020, he took over at Rayo Vallecano, whom he led to promotion from the Segunda Division in his first season in charge. Los Franjirrojos finished 12th in their first season back in La Liga and 11th in the next, which led to an approach from Leeds United, which was rebuffed by the club’s board.
However, he left at the end of the campaign when his contract expired and joined Bournemouth in June 2023. The 43-year-old – who is out of contract in the summer of 2026 – is the sixth longest serving manager in the Premier League, having been in the job just over two-and-a-half years.
The Gameplan
With Alex Smith, Bournemouth Daily Echo
Alex Smith, senior sports journalist at the Bournemouth Daily Echo, discusses how the Cherries are likely to be set up on Saturday.
"Andoni Iraola tends to deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation, with a no.6 and a no.8 behind a no.10 and a low no.9," he told us earlier this week.
"They press very high, very aggressively, winning the ball high up the pitch. That is the aim.
"They will try and be aggressive on that front and try and create as many chances as they can. They tend to be more of a volume team and have lots of chances and score a few of them.
"They do not like to sit and be neutral and let a team play in front of them, they will be getting out to them and being aggressive in that respect. They are very good on transition as well, with a lot of pace in the team.
"They can break at speed and they look to hit teams on the counter attack. When the play is a bit broken up and a bit less structured, that is when the team seems to thrive."
Last Premier League starting XI v Burnley (4-2-3-1): Petrović; Jiménez, Diakité, Senesi, Truffert; Tavernier, Cook; Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson
Match Officials
Bankes in charge for Cherries clash
Referee: Peter Bankes
Assistants: Edward Smart and Blake Antrobus
Fourth official: Farai Hallam
VAR: Darren England
Peter Bankes will be the man in the middle for Saturday's Premier League clash against Bournemouth at Gtech Community Stadium.
The appointment means that he will have officiated Brentford's first and last fixtures of 2025, having overseen the match against Arsenal on New Year's Day.
Bankes has refereed 12 Premier League games so far this term, including the Bees' trips to Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, dishing out 54 yellow cards and one red.
Last Meeting
Bournemouth 0 Brentford 2, (Carabao Cup, 26 August 2025)
Brentford progressed to round three of the Carabao Cup courtesy of goals from Fábio Carvalho and Igor Thiago.
The Bees opened the scoring with just over 10 minutes of the first half remaining, as Carvalho tucked home from inside the area after Kristoffer Ajer had nodded a Rico Henry cross into his path.
Midway through the second half, Keith Andrews' side made sure of the win. Frank Onyeka stole possession in midfield and released Carvalho, with the ball finding its way back to the Nigeria international before Thiago confidently finished from eight yards.
Hákon Valdimarsson made a handful of smart saves to secure the clean sheet and the Cherries ended the game with 10 men after Julián Araujo was sent off for a second yellow card in stoppage-time.