Brentford vs Plymouth Argyle Prediction: More away misery for Pilgrims

Premier League outfit Brentford entertain Championship side Plymouth Argyle at the Gtech Community Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday (15:00). The Bees head into this off the back of their first away win of the season and they recorded it in style by thrashing Southampton 5-0.

Argyle have also had a poor time of it on the road this season, and they are yet to win away from Home Park this campaign. Below you will find my Brentford vs Plymouth Argyle prediction, alongside the latest team news and match odds.

Brentford vs Plymouth Argyle Odds

Brentford boast the joint second-best record in the Premier League alongside Aston Villa, with 22 points from their 10 home games. The Bees have prevailed in seven of them, hence the short price of 2/11 (84.6%). Of those seven, both teams have found the net in six, so Brentford and BTTS looks more appealing at 6/5.

Plymouth are priced at 11/1 (8.3%) to pull off an upset in regulation time, considering their horrendous record on their travels. They have managed just three draws away from Home Park, losing the other 11. On the face of it, you would still consider this to be a very low price given which ground they are visiting.

The draw itself is available at 11/2 if you truly believe this poor Plymouth side can take Brentford past normal time.

Argyle have failed to score in 11 away games this campaign, so 6/5 for a Brentford clean sheet does look tempting.

Bees' attacker Bryan Mbeumo has netted 13 times in the top flight so far and bagged a brace on his last outing at Southampton. He also scored twice against the Saints in the home reverse back in August, while also hitting Ipswich Town for two at the Gtech back in October.

The Cameroon international is 7/2 to score two or more on Saturday.

Football Odds

Team News

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has still got a number of key players out injured, which will likely deny him the opportunity for wholesale changes at the weekend. Forward Igor Thiago is still nursing a knee injury that has seen him miss the last five games.

This leaves Yoane Wissa as the only fit forward in the squad so one would expect him to continue up top for the Bees. Defender Kristoffer Ajer is out with an ankle problem and is not expected back until some point in February. Fellow centre-halves Ben Mee and Ethan Pinnock are also missing due to muscle and hamstring injuries respectively.

Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins are operating in the heart of defence as a result, and are likely to continue their partnership against Argyle.

Full-back Aaron Hickey has been out for over a year with a hamstring issue and it is looking like April for him to make a return to the pitch. Josh Dasilva still needs a couple of months following knee surgery, while Rico Henry is reported to be edging closer to a return. The left-back is another who has been sidelined for over a year.

If Frank decides to rotate slightly, we could see the likes of Vitaly Janelt and Yemor Yamolyuk promoted to the XI. Makeshift full-back Keane Lewis-Potter penned a new contract this week, and he will be hoping to mark the occasion with a positive result at the weekend.

For Plymouth, they have recently welcomed back Ibrahim Cissoko from groin surgery, which saw him sit out of 10 league matches. The wide man has been a bright spark in a so far miserable season with three goals and an assist to his name.

He was left on the bench in the last match at Stoke City, so he could receive more minutes in the tank in this cup tie. Forwards Muhamed Tijani and Mustapha Bundu remain out with hamstring problems. This leaves the Pilgrims with Michael Obafemi and Ryan Hardie as options to lead the line, but rumours have been swirling that the latter could be on his way out from the club this month.

Captain Joe Edwards has been out since October with a hamstring issue of his own but it is hoped that he will be declared fit to return in the next week or so. Callum Wright will be available for selection following the conclusion of his three-match ban, which he picked up against Coventry City on Boxing Day.

Brentford to win to nil @ 13/10

Onto the tips we go. I touched on Brentford keeping a clean sheet having value at 6/5, but you can improve the price slightly by backing the Bees to win to nil at 13/10.

Yes, one of their eight wins (home and away) has seen this market land, so the odds in that respect appear to be short, but it is because of their opponents that this appears to be shorter.

I mentioned earlier how Argyle have failed to score in 11 of their away games, and they are facing one of the best home teams in the country. I have no doubt that Brentford will put Plymouth to the sword. They've netted 38 goals in the top flight, while the Pilgrims have shipped 53 goals in the Championship, the worst record in the division.

There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Devonshire outfit as they are still searching for Wayne Rooney's full-time replacement in the dugout. This will impact their preparation and leadership heading to west London and you get the sense that they could be in for yet another long afternoon.

Brentford -2 handicap @ 6/5

Yep, you can see how confident I am in a Brentford win here but who can honestly expect any different outcome given how the season has unfolded for both these clubs so far? This should be a routine exercise for the hosts against one of the worst teams in the Football League, and you can't help but think that Brentford's attacking stars will be rubbing their hands together ahead of this contest.

They will feel that there will be plenty of goals on offer to them, as there have been for most of the season at the Gtech. They haven't always blown teams away, though, many of their wins have been by a goal or two at best.

Against this wailing Plymouth team, however,  they can record one of their biggest wins of the campaign. There have been two occasions in which a -2 handicap has been successful in their favour - last time out against Southampton and their 4-1 home win over Leicester City in November.

Those two teams are among the worst of the top flight and now the Bees are facing the worst team from a division below. This could end up being a cricket score.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

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