Everton travel to the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday for one of the most significant matches of their season, knowing that a win against Brentford would send a clear statement of intent in the race for European football with the Merseyside derby next on the horizon.
Both sides go into this separated only by goal difference in the Premier League table, with Brentford seventh and Everton eighth. The stakes are identical for both clubs — a European finish would represent the best league campaign in years for either — and the head-to-head record between them since Brentford’s promotion in 2021 is perfectly level at three wins, three draws and three defeats each, with 11 goals scored and conceded apiece.
Everton’s last league outing was a commanding 3-0 home win over Chelsea, the first time they had won back-to-back games at Hill Dickinson Stadium all season. Three weeks on from that, the challenge is maintaining that momentum after a break that has included the international window and the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Team news: Branthwaite set to return as Everton get key player back
The headline team news for Everton is the potential return of Jarrad Branthwaite to the starting lineup. The 23-year-old centre-back has been absent for months and only managed 12 minutes against Chelsea before the break, but the extended rest period could work in his favour and Moyes may feel the timing is right to throw him back into the XI. Jack Grealish and Charly Alcaraz remain the only confirmed absentees for the Blues.
Brentford under Keith Andrews are without Aaron Hickey and Rico Henry at full-back, with Vitaly Janelt and Fabio Carvalho also out. Josh Dasilva is expected to miss the rest of the season alongside Carvalho.
Brentford predicted XI: Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Pinnock, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Yarmolyuk, Henderson, Jensen; Schade, Thiago.
Everton predicted XI: Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Beto.
What to expect and our prediction
Everton lost this fixture 4-2 at home in January, a result that felt like an outlier given the way their season has developed since. Brentford’s form over the last six games has been uneven — draws, a loss, a win and another loss — while Everton have been building steadily and carry the confidence of that Chelsea win into this. The three-week gap means form becomes slightly less reliable as a guide, but Moyes sides tend to be well-organised after breaks and Everton have shown enough defensive resilience this season to suggest they will be hard to beat on the road.
A win here before next Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Hill Dickinson would be a significant boost, giving Everton genuine momentum at the most important stretch of their campaign.
Prediction: Brentford 1-2 Everton.
