Brentford vs Tottenham LIVE: Latest score and goal updates as Vitaly Janelt gives hosts early lead
Brentford #Brentford
Brentford host Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day in the first Premier League game back since the break for the World Cup.
Thomas Frank and his team beat Man City in their last outing, a match where Ivan Toney starred and scored twice – though he’s now subject to FA charges over alleged betting breaches. As for Spurs, they defeated Leeds in a seven-goal thriller in mid-November, a result which left them fourth in the table and hoping that they can mount a realistic charge for the top-four – and even maybe a title tilt – once again.
However, they remain eight points off Arsenal for this term and have played one game more, too. Harry Kane starts and features for the first time since his penalty miss for England in the World Cup quarter-final against France, but French captain Hugo Lloris is rested with Fraser Forster deputising in goal.
Follow all the action from Brentford vs Tottenham below.
BRENTFORD VS TOTTENHAM
Brentford host Tottenham in the Premier League on Boxing Day – the game started at 12:30pm (GMT)
15 – GOAL! Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt taps in from close range (BRE 1-0 TOT)
The lunchtime kick-off is the first of seven games from the Premier League today
Brentford 1-0 Tottenham (Janelt, 15)
12:47 , Kieran Jackson
15 mins: Brentford have the breakthrough!
Spurs opened up all too easily down the left, with Toney heading on for Mbuemo. His cross finds Jensen whose deflected shot is saved by Fraser Forster but midfielder Vitaly Janelt taps into an empty net from close range!
Work to do from Tottenham straight away here…
(Getty Images)
Brentford 0-0 Tottenham
12:44 , Kieran Jackson
12 mins: Harry Kane steps up to take – but the Brentford wall does his job and the ball is diverted behind for a corner.
Ivan Perisic takes the set-piece but it’s poor and cleared at the front post.
(Getty Images)
Brentford 0-0 Tottenham
12:42 , Kieran Jackson
10 mins: Matt Doherty finds a route into the final third down the right, but can’t find the cross.
Son Heung-min then glides towards the penalty area and is hauled down by Ben Mee.
Story continues
Free-kick for Spurs in a promising position…
Brentford 0-0 Tottenham
12:36 , Kieran Jackson
5 mins: Some nerves early on from Tottenham, who’ve had a scruffy start.
Spurs defender Japhet Tanganga misplaces a pass to his left, heaping more pressure on the visitors, but they deal with a long throw from Jensen well – Harry Kane heading away.
Spurs yet to retain possession at all so far!
Brentford 0-0 Tottenham
12:33 , Kieran Jackson
3 mins: The corner is flicked on at the near post but Tottenham win the second ball – and manage to win a goal-kick.
Brentford 0-0 Tottenham
12:32 , Kieran Jackson
2 mins: Early pressure from Brentford, with Mbuemo finding some space on the left in the box – but his cross is blocked by Doherty.
Early corner for the hosts!
Brentford vs Tottenham – KICK-OFF!
12:30 , Kieran Jackson
We’re underway at the Gtech Community Stadium – Brentford in their usual red-and-white shirts while Spurs are in their away blue kit this afternoon.
David Coote is the referee today. All the players take the knee before play gets underway too.
Brentford vs Tottenham
12:29 , Kieran Jackson
Before kick-off, we have a minute’s applause for George Cohen – England’s 1966 World Cup winner who died on Friday.
Brentford vs Tottenham: The players are out!
12:27 , Kieran Jackson
Spurs can go third with a win this lunchtime while Brentford can move up to seventh from their current position of tenth with three points.
Tottenham had 11 players featuring at the World Cup in Qatar – but Kane, Son, Dier, Hojbjerg, and Perisic all start.
Brentford vs Tottenham: The teams are back in after their warm-ups at the Brentford Community Stadium!
12:22 , Kieran Jackson
Brentford host Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day in the first Premier League game back since the break for the World Cup.
Thomas Frank and his team beat Man City in their last outing, a match where Ivan Toney starred and scored twice – though he’s now subject to FA charges over alleged betting breaches. As for Spurs, they defeated Leeds in a seven-goal thriller in mid-November, a result which left them fourth in the table and hoping that they can mount a realistic charge for the top-four – and even maybe a title tilt – once again.
However, they remain eight points off Arsenal for this term and have played one game more, too. Harry Kane starts and features for the first time since his penalty miss for England in the World Cup quarter-final against France, but French captain Hugo Lloris is rested with Fraser Forster deputising in goal.
(Getty Images)
Brentford vs Tottenham: Brentford boss Thomas Frank extends contract to 2027
12:10 , Kieran Jackson
Brentford coach Thomas Frank has extended his contract with the Premier League club to 2027.
The Dane joined the Bees from Brondby in 2016, working for Brentford in an assistant coaching role. He then became head coach in 2018 and achieved promotion to the Premier League in 2021, as Brentford overcame Swansea in the Championship play-off final.
An impressive campaign last season – Brentford’s first term in the Premier League – saw Frank lead his side to a 13th-placed finish, and they are 10th in the table ahead of the league’s Boxing Day (26 December) restart.
Speaking about his latest contract extension on Saturday (24 December), the 49-year-old said: “Being a head coach at a club is like a relationship; there are highs and lows. I have been here six years in total, which is a long time in modern football, and I’d like to say thank you to the fans for the support you give us – the players, the staff, everyone involved with the club.
“The warmth, support and kindness every time I meet a Bees fan has been amazing, and it gives me extra energy to continue the work going forward.
“We attacked the Premier League in the first season and we’re attacking it in our second season. I’m looking forward to hopefully continuing our progress and creating more magic moments together.”
Brentford coach Thomas Frank extends contract to 2027
Brentford vs Tottenham: Antonio Conte sees no reason to talk to Harry Kane about England penalty miss
11:59 , Kieran Jackson
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has not spoken to Harry Kane about his failed spot-kick for England but believes the forward is ready to move on from his World Cup disappointment.
Kane’s missed penalty on December 10 saw his national team exit the World Cup after a 2-1 defeat to France in the last eight. France, captained by Spurs skipper Hugo Lloris, went on to reach the final in Qatar but lost out to Cristian Romero’s Argentina last Sunday in a penalty shoot-out.
Conte has warned all of his World Cup players to forget about their experience in the Middle East and is confident talisman Kane will follow that mantra on Boxing Day at Brentford despite choosing not to talk to the forward about his penalty pain.
“About my experience, when I was a player, negative situations happened and you know what happened,” the Tottenham manager said. “It’s not so important to find people to tell you ‘oh, don’t worry’. We are strong. When you play at this level, you have to be a strong person.
“You have to try to address negative events in the right way. Harry is a strong person, I was a strong person when I was a player and for me it’s better not to speak, not to try and justify. We are talking about an important player and they know the way to respond. Harry, for us, is the most important player. We are talking about a world-class striker and he broke every record to score.”
Antonio Conte sees no reason to talk to Harry Kane about England penalty miss
Premier League: BOXING DAY LINE-UP
11:50 , Kieran Jackson
Brentford vs Tottenham (12:30pm)
Crystal Palace vs Fulham
Everton vs Wolves
Leicester vs Newcastle
Southampton vs Brighton
Aston Villa vs Liverpool (5:30pm)
Arsenal vs West Ham (8pm)
Chelsea vs Bournemouth (27 Dec, 5:30pm)
Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest (27 Dec, 8pm)
Leeds vs Manchester City (28 Dec, 8pm)
Brentford vs Tottenham: Harry Kane starts!
11:44 , Kieran Jackson
No prolonged period of rest for Harry Kane – 16 days after missing that penalty for England against France in the World Cup quarter-finals, he starts at the Gtech Community Stadium this afternoon!
Son Heung-min starts alongside him but Richarlison is out of action for a few weeks at least due to a hamstring injury.
For Brentford, Ivan Toney also plays alongside Bryan Mbuemo.
Harry Kane arrives at the Brentford Community Stadium (Getty Images)
Brentford vs Tottenham: TEAM NEWS
11:34 , Kieran Jackson
Brentford: Raya, Jorgensen, Pinnock, Mee, Roerslev, Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt, Henry, Mbeumo, Toney
Subs: Goode, Canos, Dasilva, Wissa, Ghoddos, Jansson, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Cox.
Tottenham Hotspur: Forster, Tanganga, Lenglet, Dier, Doherty, Bissouma, Hojbjerg, Perisic, Kulusevski, Kane, Son
Subs: Lloris, Skipp, Sanchez, Gil Salvatierra, Emerson, Sessegnon, Sarr, Davies, White.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)
Brentford vs Tottenham: Tottenham boss Antonio Conte not happy to be playing again so soon after World Cup
11:18 , Kieran Jackson
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte is not happy to be playing so soon after the World Cup and has hinted he will select those who have remained in England for the Boxing Day clash at Brentford.
The Premier League resumes merely a week after Spurs duo Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero battled it out in Qatar to win the World Cup.
While Conte has already confirmed the World Cup finalists will not play on Monday, the Italian has a decision to make over Croatia’s Ivan Perisic as well as England pair Harry Kane and Eric Dier after the trio all made the last eight.
“It is a strange situation and honestly to play so quickly – only one week after the World Cup – I am not really happy,” he said.
“In one hand, you are happy because for my club, Tottenham, to have 12 players at the World Cup it means that we are in the right way to try to be competitive and to try in the future to win something.
“But it is normal that when you have so many players play a tournament like this, especially during the season, that now it is not easy because the physical condition is not at the top.
“It is impossible to give them a lot of rest and for sure with the players that didn’t play the World Cup and we work for four weeks, now they are in a great physical condition. We work a lot on the tactical aspect and physical aspect. Now they are at a level that is better than the players who finished the World Cup.”
Antonio Conte is not happy his players are being forced to play so quickly after the World Cup (Zac Goodwin/PA) (PA Wire)
Fantasy Football: GW17
11:01 , Kieran Jackson
The deadline has passed!
Did you get your transfers in on time? Happy with your new picks? De Bruyne or Salah?
Now we begin our build-up to the first Premier League game of the day as Brentford host Tottenham at 12:30pm! Team news is expected in around half-an-hour!
Fantasy Football: GW17
10:58 , Kieran Jackson
We’re just two minutes from the deadline – get your transfers in and pick your team for GW17!
Fantasy Football tips: FORWARDS
10:40 , Kieran Jackson
– Eddie Nketiah, Arsenal (£6.5m)
Striker is expected to start in Gabriel Jesus’ absence. Can he score the goals to keep Arsenal at the top?
– Che Adams, Southampton (£6.4m)
Saints have a good run of fixtures – and Adams is likely to be Nathan Jones’ main man up front
– Callum Wilson, Newcastle (£7.4m)
Barely featured in Qatar so will be hungry to perform for his club. Newcastle have impressed too.
– Erling Haaland, Manchester City (£12.2m)
Surely a shoo-in. The man scores goals. Lots of them.
Eddie Nketiah could be given the chance to lead the line for Arsenal in the Boxing Day match with West Ham (Zac Goodwin/PA) (PA Wire)
Fantasy Football tips: MIDFIELDERS
10:36 , Kieran Jackson
– Andreas, Fulham (£4.6m)
Best budget midfielder in the game – and has a double gameweek in GW19.
– Miguel Almiron, Newcastle (£5.8m)
Remember how good this guy was before the World Cup?! Highest performing midfielder in the game. The question is: can he keep up his good form?
– Marcus Rashford, Manchester United (£6.7m)
Man United frontman scored a beauty against Burnley in the Carabao Cup and performed well in Qatar. Cheap, too.
– Mohamed Salah, Liverpool (£12.6m)
Main man for the Reds – him or Kevin de Bruyne is the question?
(Getty Images)
Fantasy Football tips: DEFENDERS
10:25 , Kieran Jackson
– Bueno, Wolves (£3.9m)
Has started in Wolves’ last five Premier League games – and ridiculously cheap.
– Ben White, Arsenal (£4.7m)
Arsenal joint-top for clean sheets and the England international is the cheapest route into the Gunners defence.
– Kieran Trippier, Newcastle (£5.9m)
Top-scoring defender in the game; solid defensively and can provide goals/assists.
– Joao Cancelo, Manchester City (£7.4m)
Safe pick but is prone to Pep roulette in busy festive period.
(Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Fantasy Football tips: GOALKEEPERS
10:18 , Kieran Jackson
– Danny Ward, Leicester (£4.1m)
Sixth top scoring goalkeeper in FPL despite a disastrous opening two months… and dirt cheap.
– Bernd Leno, Fulham (£4.5m)
Double gameweek for Fulham in GW19; good option for the bench
– Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal (£4.9m)
Arseanl are top for clean sheets and top of the league. Still at a good price too.
– Nick Pope, Newcastle (£5.3m)
Top scoring goalkeeper in the game, with the Magpies solid defensively.
(PA Wire)
Fantasy Football – major points:
10:09 , Kieran Jackson
– For the return of Premier League Fantasy Football after the World Cup, every player has UNLIMITED TRANSFERS. That means they can make as many changes to their team as they want up until this morning’s Gameweek 17 deadline of 11AM (GMT).
– So if you have the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino or Alexis Mac Allister in your teams – all of whom are unavailable for this round of games – now is the time to get them out of your team!
– Keep an eye on double gameweeks down the line! Chelsea, Fulham, Manchester City (x2), Tottenham and Arsenal all have double gameweeks in the next six weeks or so…
– Here are the GW17 fixtures:
Fantasy Football tips and team news LIVE
10:00 , Lawrence Ostlere
Follow all the latest Fantasy Football tips and team news ahead of the deadline.