Preview: Brentford vs. Oldham Athletic - prediction, team news, lineups

Brentford head into their EFL Cup third round tie with Oldham Athletic looking to back up their excellent start in the Premier League.

While all is well at the Bees, Oldham make the trip to the capital currently sitting at the bottom of the League Two standings.

Match preview

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Having failed to defeat the likes of Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford boss Thomas Frank may have had some concerns with how his side would handle the threat of a Wolverhampton Wanderers side seemingly growing in confidence.

However, last season's Championship playoff winners were superb at Molineux, riding their luck on occasions but emerging as fully-deserving 2-0 winners.

Even faced with the issue of playing with 10 men courtesy of Shandon Baptiste's avoidable red card, Brentford soaked up the pressure of the home side with relative ease.

Frank's team were helped by Ivan Toney offering an out-ball on countless occasions, but the rearguard effort at the other end bodes well for the future.

Brentford now have eight points from their opening fixtures, and their upcoming encounter at home to Liverpool will see many of their stars rested for this contest.

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Nevertheless, Frank will welcome another opportunity to hand game time to his squad members, many of them needing to get up to speed after battling past Forest Green Rovers in the second round.

At a time when Oldham are dealing with problems both on and off the pitch, their exploits in this competition gives Keith Curle and his squad a break from the pressures at Boundary Park.

There is unlikely to be one person who expects the Latics to prevail on Tuesday evening, particularly with just four goals being scored during their eight fourth-tier games.

Oldham have reached this stage of the tournament without winning in normal time, instead relying on penalty-shootout victories over Tranmere Rovers and Accrington Stanley respectively.

Positives will also be taken from claiming a goalless draw from their home fixture with high-flying Hartlepool United at the weekend.

Team News

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Frank will make sweeping changes to his Brentford XI, handing starts to the likes of Frank Onyeka and Yoane Wissa.

Mathias Jorgensen should feature after joining on a free transfer, while Dominic Thompson will hope for another opportunity on the left-hand side.

Providing that Frank sticks with three at the back, Ethan Pinnock and Sergi Canos may be the only players who remain in the team from the weekend.

Curle is also expected to make a number of alterations to his Oldham starting lineup.

Zachary Dearnley could be handed a chance in attack, while Jamie Bowden will hope to be recalled in central midfield.

Raphael Diarra may drop back into defence to hand League Two ever-present Carl Piergianni a rest.

Brentford possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Roerslev, Jorgensen, Pinnock; Canos, Onyeka, Jensen, Thompson; Ghoddos, Forss, Wissa

Oldham Athletic possible starting lineup:
Leutwiler; Clarke, Diarra, Sheehan, Jameson; Bowden, Whelan; Bettache, Keillor-Dunn, Bahamboula; Dearnley

We say: Brentford 3-0 Oldham Athletic

Even with Brentford making widespread changes, this will likely prove to be a long evening for the visitors. While Oldham may threaten in short bursts, we expect the Bees to cruise to victory and keep a clean sheet in the process.