Football Accumulator Tips: Saturday’s 17/1 FavFour backs Brentford win

Brentford vs Crystal Palace – Brentford

Brentford have had a good start to the season, picking up a point against a well-oiled Tottenham side and beating West London rivals Fulham. They host Crystal Palace in their next game, with the Eagles fresh from their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.

The Bees might’ve be the happier of the two sides when they last played at the Brentford Community Stadium, holding Tottenham to a 2-2 draw, despite being beat on shots and possession.

They were happy to allow new goalkeeper Mark Flekken draw four saves against Spurs, but whilst they showed their defensive resilience in their opening game, their attacking prowess really came to light against Fulham. They beat the Cottagers 3-0 with both Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo getting on the scoresheet once again.

As for Crystal Palace, a 1-0 victory against a weak Sheffield United side was a good start, only conceding one shot on target in that match which was from outside the box. Against the Gunners was a different story as they lost 1-0, despite Arsenal having 10 men for the best part of half an hour as Takehiro Tomiyasu was controversially shown his marching orders. Half of their 14 total shots were blocked, with most of those coming after the red card.

Brentford and Crystal Palace have four draws in the last two Premier League campaigns with both ties finishing 1-1 last season. However, we think that Palace are still without some key players, notably Michael Olise and Matheus Franca. Brentford haven’t fared badly without Ivan Toney, with Mbeumo and Wissa filling the gaping hole very well. The former has scored six goals and picked up two assists since Toney was suspended, and wouldn’t be surprised if he continued his good form.

With all that in mind, another London derby for Brentford, the third one running, might be a similar result to the one they picked up against Fulham. For the first leg, we predict the Bees to beat Crystal Palace to kick off our FavFour.

Rotherham vs Leicester – Leicester

Three wins out of three for Leicester after their late winner over Cardiff travel to another winless side in Rotherham.

The Foxes are only second to Ipswich on goal difference in their bid to return to the top flight following relegation last season. Whilst their games have been tight, winning all three of their games by a single goal to nil, a win is a win and they maintain their 100% record.

As for Rotherham, their story is very different. After a 4-1 hammering on the opening day by Stoke, they looked to be on their way to a win against Blackburn, until they conceded two goals within three minutes to Sammie Szmodics, and then went on to lose away at Sunderland. Leicester is the last team they would want to face, but it gives them a real chance to make a statement with a good result against a very strong side.

We can’t see that happening though. Leicester have a far more talented squad than the Millers, who struggled last season as well. Some fear this may be the year they finally go back into League One. As a result, we would be surprised if Leicester didn’t beat Rotherham at the New York Stadium on Saturday.

Ipswich vs Leeds – Ipswich

You’d think that Leeds would be the one in form coming into this fixture at the start of the season, but Ipswich’s 100% record and Leeds’ winless run pits the two at opposite ends of the Championship table as they clash on Saturday.

The Tractor Boys won away at QPR last week to keep their winning run going, meaning they have kept two clean sheets in doing so. They have been on fire since gaining promotion from League One, whether they can continue that form is a different thing. The Ipswich train keeps going full steam ahead.

As for Leeds, their train never left the station. No wins from their first three games with just a single point to show for it. Daniel Farke’s side need to get into form sooner rather than later if they are to meet their expectations of returning to the top flight at the first time of asking, as another year in the second tier would not be ideal.

The visitors haven’t won in their last five visits to Portman Road, dating back to a 2-1 win in 2013, and given their form that run looks likely to continue. Ipswich have been high flying from the start of the season and we think they’ll grab their fourth consecutive win against Leeds.

West Brom vs Middlesbrough – West Brom

Carlos Corberan’s West Brom take on Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough in the final game of the FavFour.

Whilst West Brom have been anything but spectacular, Middlesbrough have been very underwhelming this season, currently occupying second bottom spot in the second tier. The Baggies have four points from a possible nine, picking up their one win at home against Swansea. Only three teams have scored more goals than the Baggies, highlighting their effectiveness in front of goal.

Middlesbrough clearly haven’t recovered from the defeat to Coventry in last year’s Play-Off semi-final, picking up just a point from their first three games. That came against Huddersfield, who had also lost their first two games, so not much to shout about there. Just the one goal for Boro after both Cameron Archer and Chuba Akpom, who were key parts of their promotion charge.

Given that only four sides were better than West Brom at home under Corberan, and no one conceded less goals than the Baggies, who turned the Hawthorns into a fortress under Corberan, it’s a Baggies home win to finish off this FavFour accumulator.