Bournemouth vs Brentford: EFL Cup Prediction (26.08.2025)

On August 26, 2025, at 20.45 CEST, the 1/32 final of the English League Cup will take place between Bournemouth and Brentford. Bookmakers consider the hosts the favorites. Let’s see who has the better chance to advance to the next round and give our prediction for this match.

Bournemouth

The Cherries sold almost their entire defense before the start of the season, and this could not go unnoticed. Although the club is trying to cover the losses, not all replacements have enough playing experience, and the newcomers still need time to adapt. This explains the unstable results at the beginning of the season. However, the attacking potential of Bournemouth remains intact.

The team is trying to offset defensive problems with aggressive attacking football. Because of this, Bournemouth can be expected to play in high-scoring matches. A prime example was their first league game against Liverpool, which ended in a 2-4 defeat. However, they can no longer rely on Dango Ouattara, who has moved to their upcoming opponent.

Brentford

After Thomas Frank moved to Tottenham, the team was taken over by Keith Andrews – a coach previously responsible for set pieces and directly involved in the club’s recent successes. Under his guidance, the Bees played three friendlies with decent results, but in the Premier League opener, they lost 1-3 to Nottingham.

However, after last season’s breakthrough, the club lost two key players. Bryan Mbeumo, the fourth top scorer in the Premier League, joined Manchester United for an impressive €75 million, while first-choice goalkeeper Mark Flekken continued his career at Bayer Leverkusen. Brentford quickly addressed the goalkeeper position by signing Caoimhín Kelleher from Liverpool. They also added experience with Jordan Henderson, who joined as a free agent after a short spell at Ajax. To strengthen the attack, they signed Ouattara from Bournemouth as Mbeumo’s replacement.

Stats and Head-to-Head Record

In the last five head-to-head meetings, Brentford has been dominant with four wins. The remaining match ended in a draw.

Prediction

For the Bournemouth vs Brentford match, the prediction favors the visitors. The Cherries currently resemble a transfer market, ready to sell anyone for the right price. This clearly does not benefit the team’s stability and performance early in the season. Also, considering Bournemouth’s inconsistency, a high-scoring game seems likely. Therefore, we suggest a risky combined bet: Brentford not to lose and total goals over 2.5 at odds of 3.52.