AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth will be looking to build on their Carabao Cup win in midweek when they face Premier League counterparts Brentford on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Second-half goals from David Brooks, Hamed Traorè and Ryan Christie saw the Cherries triumph 3-2 against Swansea City to register Andoni Iraola’s first victory as head coach.
Brentford also left South Wales victorious, the Bees reaching the third round after prevailing 3-0 on penalties against Newport County having drawn 1-1 at Rodney Parade.
The result saw Thomas Frank’s team maintain their unbeaten start to the season having claimed five points from their first three games in the Premier League.
Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have been among the goals for the Bees, the pair both netting in their 2-2 draw with Tottenham at the Gtech Community Stadium on the opening day.
Mbeumo, who scored from the spot against Spurs, took his tally to three after notching a double, including another penalty, in a 3-0 win at Fulham where Wissa was also on target.
Kevin Schade’s stunning strike, his first goal for the club, gave Brentford the lead against Crystal Palace last Saturday before Joachim Andersen levelled for the Eagles to earn them a point.
Ahead of Saturday’s clash, afcb.co.uk caught up with Ian Westbrook who covers the fortunes of the Bees as a fan writer for BBC Sport and for Beesotted, the Brentford fans’ network.
BRENTFORD PROFILE
Founded: 1889
Ground: Gtech Community Stadium
Nicknames: The Bees
Record appearances: Ken Coote – 559 games (1949-1963)
Record goalscorer: Jim Towers – 163 goals in 282 games
Head coach: Thomas Frank (pictured above, appointed October 2018)
Club captain: Christian Nørgaard
League position: Ninth
Leading goalscorer: Bryan Mbeumo (three in Premier League)
Last game: Newport County 1 Brentford 1 (Bees won 3-0 on penalties in the Carabao Cup second round)
afcb.co.uk: How has the season started for the Bees?
IW: It’s been a good start, we are unbeaten in three Premier League games and through to the third round of the Carabao Cup.
The two home games against Spurs and Crystal Palace were both draws, probably the right result in each.
We had good spells against Spurs but also let them back into the game and we always draw with Crystal Palace, that was five in a row.
Probably the most satisfying result so far was the 3-0 derby win at Fulham.
In the Carabao Cup at Newport County on Tuesday, it was a mixture of the substitutes from Saturday, a couple of B teamers and a couple of first teamers.
It wasn’t the best of games but we got through thanks to some saves in the penalty shootout from goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe (pictured above).
So, it’s been quite satisfying so far.
afcb.co.uk: Leading goalscorer in the past three seasons, who’s going to step up to the plate in the absence of Ivan Toney?
IW: I think it’s going to be a combination of Bryan Mbeumo (pictured above) and Yoane Wissa.
Mbeumo finished last season really well and has carried that form into this season. Although he plays wide on the right, he often cuts in and scores quite a few.
Wissa is playing the more central striker role at the moment and if he gets a chance, he will normally take it.
Kevin Schade scored his first goal for the club against Crystal Palace on Saturday which he needed because he had gone quite a long time without scoring.
It's quite a good front three but I think Mbeumo and Wissa will get most of the goals in Toney’s absence.
afcb.co.uk: What’s your verdict on the change of goalkeeper?
IW: Sadly, David Raya didn’t want to stay so, if he didn’t want to stay, then we had to get the money for him before he was out of contract next summer.
Mark Flekken (pictured above) has settled in fairly well. There were a couple of mistakes in pre-season and a few people were doubting him.
The thing is you can’t compare any goalkeeper to Raya who is exceptional.
Flekken came in and has done well in the competitive games and made some good saves.
His kicking and distribution are excellent. It’s a change that had to happen and Flekken has done well so far.
afcb.co.uk: Tell us a little about Kevin Schade (pictured above) who scored a stunning goal against Crystal Palace?
IW: He was signed on a loan-to-buy deal in January. He came from Freiburg in Germany, the same club as Frekken.
He’s very quick and was one of the quickest wingers in the Bundesliga. He’s taken a bit of time to settle in.
In the second half of last season, he made a mixture of starts and sub appearances. He started against Fulham, Crystal Palace and Newport.
He really needed the goal against Palace because he’s had a couple of near misses. He’s good in the air as well, flicks on quite a lot of headers.
I think he’s a really exciting prospect and once he really settles down, he could have a great season.
afcb.co.uk: Who is their one to watch?
IW: Keane Lewis-Potter (pictured above). He was very good in the Championship and had a couple of good games against us for Hull.
Last season was his first in the Premier League and he had quite a lot of injury problems and didn’t get a run of games.
He was excellent in pre-season, particularly the games in America and against Lille. Once he gets in the side, I think he’s going to be one to watch and will do really well.
afcb.co.uk: Apart from Ivan Toney, are any key players either injured or suspended against the Cherries?
IW: There are problems in midfield. Two of our regular substitute midfielders Josh Dasilva and Shandon Baptiste are both out with injuries for a few months.
Mikkel Damsgaard (pictured above), another experienced midfielder, missed the Palace and Newport games with what Thomas Frank called a minor knock.
We are lacking experience in midfield, particularly in an attacking midfield position.
There were three youngsters on the bench against Palace. We are okay for defensive midfielders but attacking midfield is where we have an issue at the moment.
afcb.co.uk: How do you see the game panning out and what’s your score prediction?
IW: We are normally quite good at home but we haven’t won a home game yet this season and could do with doing that going into the international break.
It will be close, games against Bournemouth always are. But I’m going for a 2-1 win to us.
You can follow Ian on Twitter – @ianwestbrook
Officials: Robert Madley (referee), Marc Perry (assistant), Steven Meredith (assistant), Robert Jones (fourth official), Paul Tierney (VAR).
