In what feels like an age we return to Vale Park tomorrow to face Premier League Brentford in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup
In the Dugout
In 2018 Thomas Frank was appointed Brentford boss after Dean Smith left for Aston Villa. In his first full season in charge, he won promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs with a win over Swansea City.
Frank on Port Vale “We truly respect Port Vale; they are a good team, doing well in League Two, in the Play-Offs. I will put a strong team out there with a strong squad to travel because I believe in keeping momentum. I would love to go on a cup run. I’ve heard that playing away to Port Vale is tricky; I hope we have a very lively cup atmosphere”.
Man with the Armband
30-year-old Pontus Jansson captains the Bees after joining in 2019. He spent his youth career in his home nation of Sweden and made professional appearances for Malmo FF and IFK Malmo before moving to Torino in Italy. He went on loan to Leeds United before signing for them permanently in 2017. After making over 100 appearances for Leeds he left for Brentford.
In all competitions, the skipper has made 20 appearances scoring once and assisting once picking up three yellow cards. In the centre of the back three, he has helped his defence to four clean sheets against Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Crystal Palace and Arsenal. His goal came against Watford in a 2-1 win.
Star Man
Forward Ivan Toney spent his youth career at Northampton Town before making his professional debut in 2012. He would later move onto Newcastle United and go on loan to Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town, Scunthorpe United and Wigan Athletic. His next permanent move was to Peterborough in 2018 before signing for Brentford two years later.
Toney has scored five goals for Brentford in all competitions against Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Stoke City, Newcastle United and Everton.
Top Scorer
Yoane Wissa is the Bees top scorer with six goals, three in the league and three in the Carabao Cup. He managed a brace against Oldham Athletic in the cup and scored in his last game in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
Last time out and recent form
Brentford have won twice and lost three of their last five games. They were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Chelsea and lost in the league to Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City. They defeated Watford 2-1 in the league with goals from Jansson and Bryan Mbuemo. In their last game, they hosted Aston Villa.
Danny Ings opened the scoring on 16 minutes after being played in by Emiliano Buendia but a turnaround from Wissa and Mads Roerslev Rasmussen gave the Bees the lead. In a game where Brentford had less possession and fewer shots on target, they hung on for all three points.