Igor Thiago scored his 15th and 16th goals to close to gap to Erling Haaland to just four in the Premier League’s Golden Boot race, to extend Brentford’s unbeaten run to six games, and to send the Bees up to 5th in the table with a 3-0 victory over Sunderland on Wednesday.
WATCH — Brentford vs Sunderland full match replay
After appearing in just eight games and scoring no goals in his first season with Brentford due to an ongoing knee injury, the big bruiser has now surpassed Roberto Firmino, Matheus Cunha and Gabriel Martinelli for the most PL goals scored by a Brazilian in a single season (previously 15). Thiago scored his first PL hat trick against Everton over the weekend and followed it up with his fifth mutli-goal game this season against the Black Cats.
From one goal-scoring extreme to the other, Yehor Yarmoliuk bagged his first goal for Brentford (in his 90th game for the club) late in the second half to make it 3-0. Thiago left the game in the 82nd minutes with an apparent injury after a wayward challenge to his ankle, but his substitution appeared to be more cautionary than anything.
Thanks to Manchester United and Chelsea both dropping points on Wednesday, Brentford (33 points) sit 5th in the PL table after 21 games played. The Bees are in the thick of the UEFA Champions League race in Keith Andrew’s first season in charge (of any club). Sunderland (30 points) are 9th and fading fast after five straight without a win (0W-4D-1L)
What’s next?
- Everton vs Sunderland — Saturday, 7:15 am ET (FA Cup)
- Sheffield Wednesday vs Brentford — Saturday, 10 am ET (FA Cup)
- Sunderland vs Crystal Palace — Saturday, Jan. 17, 10 am ET (next PL fixture)
- Chelsea vs Brentford — Saturday, Jan. 17, 10 am ET (next PL fixture)
Brentford vs Sunderland live updates - by Andy Edwards
Brentford vs Sunderland final score: 3-0
Goalscorers: Igor Thiago (30', 65'), Yehor Yarmoliuk (73')
GOAL! Brentford 3-0 Sunderland: Yarmoliuk bags his first PL goal (73')
GOAL! Brentford 2-0 Sunderland: Thiago heads home his 16th of the season (65')
PENALTY SAVED! Le Fee goes for the panenka but Kelleher doesn’t budge (60')
GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Sunderland: Thiago rounds Roefs and slots home (30')
Brentford starting lineup
Kelleher - Kayode, Ajer, Collins, Henry - Yarmoliuk, Janelt, Jensen - Lewis-Potter, Schade, Thiago
Sunderland starting lineup
Roefs - Hume, Mukiele, Ballard, Alderete - Geertruida, Xhaka, Le Fee - Rigg, Adingra, Brobbey
How to watch Brentford vs Sunderland live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 2:30pm ET Wednesday (January 7)
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium — West London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
Brentford beat Everton 4-2 on Sunday and first-year coach Keith Andrews has done a heck of a job with the Bees as they sit on 30 points, just four points off the top four. That is amazing considering they lost Thomas Frank and several key players in the summer.
Sunderland drew 1-1 at Tottenham Hotspur to continue their fine run, with Regis Le Bris’ side so solid and they are level on points with Brentford as they also chase a shock European qualification.
Brentford team news, focus
Fabio Carvalho, Antoni Milambo and Josh Dasilva remain out injured, while Frank Onyeka and Dango Ouattara are away at AFCON. Igor Thiago scored a hat trick against Everton to continue his incredible season as he’s pushing Erling Haaland all the way for the Golden Boot.
Sunderland team news, focus
Sunderland have had back-to-back draws with Man City and Spurs and they are even more impressive because they’ve been missing so many key players who have been at AFCON. Some of those will start to return soon, while Brian Brobbey has really stepped up in attack and scored a beauty against Spurs to grab a point.
Brentford vs Sunderland prediction
This should be a really tight game with both teams full of confidence. Give the Bees the edge at home as they score plenty of goals. Brentford 2-1 Sunderland.
