Brentford vs Wolves tips and predictions: Wolves to continue good form with straightforward win over weary Bees

Matheus Cunha

Brentford will be looking for revenge as they welcome Wolves to the Gtech Community Stadium in the FA Cup third round on Friday night (1915 GMT).

Thomas Frank's Brentford side have been having a tough time of late in the Premier League, as they have lost their last five matches and are now just four points above the drop zone.

The FA Cup will bring Frank and his troops a potential distraction from their league form, but they will be meeting Wolves, a team that they will not be too pleased to see again after the 4-1 defeat to Gary O'Neil's men over the festive period.

Frank's team have been in the middle of an injury crisis recently, with many first team regulars in the treatment room, while three Bees stars are off to the Africa Cup of Nations.

With the injuries, there is not much scope for Frank to rotate his squad, so they he either goes with his weary first team players or takes a chance on some of the club's young prospects.

On the other hand, O'Neil's troops had a brilliant Christmas, three consecutive wins in the league has taken them up to 11th and they are now closer to the European places than they are to the drop zone.

The FA Cup presents a chance for a cup run and with no game for two and a half weeks after this one, you'd expect Wolves to put out a fairly strong side.

Matheus Cunha has been in great form for Wolves recently and they will be licking their lips at the thought of coming up against a Brentford defence without the suspended Ben Mee and the injured Kristoffer Ajer.

The Bees have been leaky at the back recently and they have not kept a clean sheet at home since October, conceding an average of two goals per game over their last five at home.

Bryan Mbeumo was filling in brilliantly for the suspended Ivan Toney, but his injury has impacted the Bees at the top end of the pitch as they have only scored three times in the four games he has missed.

Meanwhile, Wolves have been scoring for fun over the festive period, netting nine times in their last three games, with Cunha being involved in three of them.

Wolves should punish a weary Bees side and repeat their festive victory to book their place in the fourth round.

Team news

Saman Ghoddos, Yoanne Wissa and Frank Onyeka are the Brentford representatives at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Ben Mee is serving the last match of a three game ban.

Rico Henry, Bryan Mbeumo, Kevin Schade, Kristoffer Ajer and Aaron Hickey are all ruled out, while Ivan Toney is suspended, but will be eligible to return later in the month.

Wolves are without top scorer, Hwang Hee-Chan as he is at the Asian Cup with South Korea, while Boubacar Traore and Rayan Ait-Nouri are at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Mario Lemina is unavailable due to personal reasons.