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Beesotted contributors The Gowler and Paul Kowalczyk (@BeesBreakdown) give us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s draw against Leicester

Thomas Frank was forced to rotate the squad some coming off a midweek match at Southampton. Brentford still lined up in their 4-3-3, but Damsgaard and Wissa came back into the starting XI. Lewis-Potter, Ajer, Roerslev, and Janelt all missed the game due to injury. Brentford’s backline unchanged through 5 games, giving up 5 goals throughout that span.

Leicester came out in their 4-2-3-1 with Barnes, Maddison, and Dewsbury-Hall all playing important parts. Daka was given the start up top, with Iheanacho going to the bench. Harry Souttar, on a good run of form, kept Leicester’s backline organized and won 100% of his aerial duels.

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Quick Stats:

Full Time

Possession: Brentford 53% – 47% Leicester

xG: Brentford 0.64 – 1.35 Leicester

xGOT: Brentford 0.21 – 0.79 Leicester

Other Brentford stats:

Total Shots: 11

Interceptions: 8

Aerial duels won: 16 (52%)

Summary

Brentford has struggled this season when holding more possession. This graph shows how the Bee’s average possession during wins this season has been 35.6%. A great example of Brentford’s struggle breaking down a low block was the match against Everton.

Brentford held 53% possession during the Leicester match, but when broken down by half, Brentford held 57% in the first and 48% in the second. This may have been the one match, along with the first Southampton match, that Brentford looked better holding more possession and easily creating chances going forward.

Brentford may not have created the most xG overall (0.58) in the first half, but it was much more than the 0.06 xG created in the second. Brentford recorded 9 shots in the first half compared to only 2 in the second half. Leicester on the other hand created 0.40 xG in the first half and 0.95 in the second.

While xG may not tell the full story, their was a noticeable difference in Brentford creating more opportunities in the first half even if xG statistics don’t pick up chances cut out. Brentford recorded plenty of touches in Leicester’s penalty area, but Leicester ended with 32 clearances. One example that sticks out is an early chance with Rico Henry’s cross targeting Mbeumo at the back post that was cut out for a corner.

There was a clear difference between the first half and the second half. Some of this may be due to tired legs and adjustments made from Leicester. Pressing intensity (PPDA) statistics suggest Leicester came out the second half with much more intensity which led to their goal. Combine this with Brentford coming off a midweek match, and it’s easy to see how Brentford conceded and looked flat in the second half.

Brentford were unlucky to not score another goal in the first half and showed a clear decline in attacks per minute throughout the match. Brentford weren’t able to create the same chances in the second half, with Brentford resorting to long balls in order to not concede another goal when playing it out of the back.