Brentford vs Wolves Prediction: Back Rico Henry to be carded in the capital

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday with Brentford against Wolves one of the three o’clock kick-offs in the top-flight. Our resident rambler @AnthonyEadson is here to preview the game and provide us with his best bets.

Brentford performed well in the first half against Manchester United midweek and manager Thomas Frank was left frustrated after the 3-1 defeat to Ralf Rangnick’s side. The Bees have now lost five of their last six in the league, although they remain 10 points clear of the relegation zone on their first season back in the top-flight since 1947

Wolves on the other hand have been in good form over recent weeks, with their latest result being a 3-1 victory over Southampton at Molineux last weekend. It’s now five unbeaten in all competitions for Bruno Lage’s men and remarkably they sit eighth in the table, despite scoring just 15 goals after 20 matches this season.

Ruben Neves is back in training after contracting Covid and may return to the starting line-up for the visitors, although Jonny, Hwang Hee-Chan and Pedro Neto all remain sidelined. For the hosts, David Raya and Charlie Goode miss out through injury with Rico Henry poised to return to the starting XI.

The first of two selections I’ve picked out for this clash from the capital comes from the anytime assist market. As mentioned above Brentford’s form has been patchy of late, conceding at least three goals in all of their last three matches and I think there’s plenty of reason for Wolves to believe they can find the net a couple of times here on Saturday.

Rayan Ait Nouri is the player I’ve taken a lean towards to provide an assist anytime in the match with 9/1 on offer from William Hill. The Frenchman should start the game in the left-wing-back position and likes to get forward in this system with manager Bruno Lage going with a defensive three.

The 20-year-old has recorded four assists in 12 starts in all competitions this season, with two of those contributions coming in his last two matches, against Sheffield United in the FA Cup and against Southampton last weekend. Wolves have won five of their last six and I’m expecting another strong showing on Saturday. 

The second pick for this match is Brentford’s Rico Henry to be carded which is available with both bet365 and William Hill at the price of 11/2. After manager Thomas Frank managed his workload midweek by dropping him to the bench against Man United, I think we’ll see a return to the starting line-up for Henry at left-wing-back, with Sergi Canos moving back to the right.

With there also an expected return to the Wolves attack for Adama Traore, I’ve reverted to one of my old favourites when it comes to betting angles. Traore is known for his raw pace and has been a nightmare for defenders over the last couple of years, drawing fouls left right and centre with an average of 2.3 drawn per game in the 2020/2021 league campaign. 

Traore’s trickery resulted in a yellow card for Nemanja Matic when making a 24 minute cameo against Man United at the start of the month and another bonus here is that we have a referee in charge who has been trigger-happy with the bookings this campaign. 

Peter Bankes has only taken charge of six top-flight games so far this season but has handed out an impressive 34 yellow cards with an average of 5.67 per game. That’s higher than any other official in the Premier League this season, and with this in mind 11/2 looks a good price on Henry to be carded should Adama Traore start on the right side of a front-three for Wolves.