Wolves vs Brentford Prediction: Santa to give a much-needed present to the home side

Life has not been good for Wolves fans so far this campaign. Christmas is on the horizon and they still haven’t had the chance to celebrate a three-point haul in the Premier League. Could that change this weekend?

This might be one of their better chances as they face a Brentford side at home who haven’t exactly been tearing it up on their travels. This game is in the non-TV slot (15:00) on Saturday afternoon and I’m looking for Santa to bring some cheer to the Midlands. Check out why and my other Wolves vs Brentford Predictions below…

Team News:

Afcon has started, and that means teams have players added to their unavailability lists. For the home side, that means Emmanuel Agbadou and Tawanda Chirewa are missing, along with Rodrigo Gomes (groin) and Yerson Mosquera, who is serving a one-match ban after picking up his fifth booking of the season at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday.

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi are both considered doubts. Jorgen Strand Larsen is still looking for his first goal from open play this season. The Norwegian international wanted to leave the club for Newcastle at the end of the transfer window, but Wolves held firm. They may now be wondering whether they would have preferred the £60m fee that was being touted.

Brentford have also lost a pair to Afcon. Dango Ouattara has been one of their best players so far this campaign, so his absence will be sorely felt. Frank Onyeka is also in Africa, but with no Premier League starts to his name this season, I don’t think it will make too much of a difference in this one.

Reiss Nelson, Fabio Carvalho and Josh Dasilva could all be available for manager Keith Andrews. The Bees were unlucky in the week in their Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat at the Etihad Stadium. The hosts could easily have been down to 10 men in the opening 15 minutes when Abdukodir Khusanov took down Kevin Schade as the German international was bearing down on goal. Following liaisons with his assistant, Sam Barrett only produced a yellow, but it looked a red all day long. They can feel rightly aggrieved, but with those extra 90 minutes in their legs, could this provide Wolves with a golden opportunity to get their first W of the season?

Wolves vs Brentford Odds

It won’t shock anyone that, despite being on the road and having lost seven of their eight games away from the Gtech Community Stadium, Brentford are pretty strong favourites to emerge victorious. Betfred have them as an 11/10 shot (48% chance) to bring the three points back to London with them on Saturday evening.

The draw (5/2) is seen as more likely than the home win (13/5) - rated as 29% and 28% chances respectively.

Our traders are completely undecided on how many goals they’ll be, as both the Over and Under 2.5 Goals price is the same at 10/11. They do lean very slightly towards Both Teams to Score, with 4/5 being the odds available for Yes and 1/1 for No.

No player is odds-on to score, with Igor Thiago (6/5) and Strand Larsen (15/8) being the top choices in this market. No other player is shorter than 2/1, which does suggest they expect few goals.

Bet 1 - Wolves to Win @ 13/5

I’m sorry but that 13/5 price is just too big to ignore. Wolves are clearly not a very good side but they are still competing. They were an injury-time own goal away from taking a point away from league leaders Arsenal at the weekend. They also had a very good 15-20 minute spell against Manchester United a fortnight ago.

I will admit that defensively in the second half of that game, they were all over the place and the Red Devils sliced through them with ease. Still, Brentford have had to play a cup match this week, while Wolves players had their feet up and were resting in front of the fireplace. The Bees have also lost seven of their eight games away from home. That just can’t be overlooked. That is a terrible record and I don’t think Wolves are going to go through the whole season without a win or two.

This is the ideal opportunity to find a way to get three points and that price is just crazy big. How many times are you going to get 13/5 on a Premier League team to beat another side from the same division with such a putrid away record? Take the 13/5.

Bet 2 - Jorgen Strand Larsen to score anytime @ 15/8

This one comes with a leap of faith, I will admit. The 25-year-old has been out of sorts all season since his move to Newcastle was scuppered. A new five-year contract hasn’t settled him down and he must be one of the biggest disappointments in the whole of Fantasy Premier League.

Last season, he finished in great form. Six times in the final seven starts of the 24/25 season, we saw him celebrate finding the back of the net. This term though, only once has been able to do the same - a penalty against Burnley. That isn’t good enough for a player who has shown he can score goals at this level.

What is the most scary is he hasn’t had a game with more than one shot since the Carabao Cup win over West Ham in September. That is Shot - not even a Shot on Target.

Still, hope spring eternal. He is Wolves’ penalty-taker - which is always helpful in this market - and he (like his team) will surely see an upturn in form soon. This is a great chance for a Christmas miracle/a decent Premier League striker actually scoring.