Brentford and Bournemouth draw 0-0
Bournemouth had the best chances throughout, but the Bees defended well enough to hang on for a nil-nil draw. The Bees are undefeated against Bournemouth in three matches this season, and have still never lost to the Cherries in the Premier League.
Defensive shuffle
Keith Andrews made some minor adjustments to his defensive squad, starting Nathan Collins for the first time since late January. That shifted Kristoffer Ajer to the substitutes’ bench for the first time since late December. He didn't stay there for long though as Rico Henry went down with a hamstring injury midway through the first half, needing to leave the game, with Ajer replacing him.
If Henry's injury is longer-term, the Bees do have a few options. Andrews has started three other players at left-back so far this season (Ajer, Aaron Hickey and Keane Lewis-Potter).
Brentford starts and minutes for defenders in the 2025-26 Premier League season (source: Correlation FC)
| Player | Starts | Minutes | Most common starting position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kayode | 28 | 2,448 | Right-back |
| Collins | 23 | 2,165 | Right centre-back |
| van den Berg | 23 | 2,124 | Left centre-back |
| Ajer | 18 | 1,609 | Right centre-back |
| Henry | 14 | 1,328 | Left-back |
| Lewis-Potter | 4* | 317* | Left-back |
| Hickey | 7 | 599 | Left-back |
| Pinnock | 3 | 228 | Left centre-back |
*Lewis-Potter has started a total of 13 games and played 1,165 minutes
Throughout the season, Andrews has started ten different sets of defenders, with seven variations of back fours and three variations of back fives.
Brentford's starting back four groupings in the Premier League 2025-26 season (source: Correlation FC)
| LB | LCB | RCB | RB | Times used | Record (W-D-L) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry | Collins | Ajer | Kayode | 5 | 2-1-2 |
| Ajer | van den Berg | Collins | Kayode | 5 | 2-0-3 |
| Hickey | van den Berg | Collins | Kayode | 4 | 3-1-0 |
| Henry | van den Berg | Ajer | Kayode | 4 | 3-1-0 |
| Henry | van den Berg | Collins | Kayode | 3 | 1-1-1 |
| Lewis-Potter | van den Berg | Collins | Kayode | 2 | 1-0-1 |
| Henry | van den Berg | Ajer | Hickey | 1 | 0-0-1 |
| Hickey | Collins | Ajer | Kayode | 1 | 1-0-0 |
| Total | 25 games | 13-4-8 |
The Bees are winless in their league games with a back five this season. They haven't played with that formation since their early December loss to Arsenal.
Brentford's starting back five groupings in the Premier League 2025-26 season (source: Correlation FC)
| LB | LCB | MCB | RCB | RB | Times used | Record (W-D-L) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis-Potter | Pinnock | Collins | van den Berg | Kayode | 2 | 0-1-1 |
| Hickey | Collins | van den Berg | Ajer | Kayode | 1 | 0-0-1 |
| Henry | van den Berg | Pinnock | Ajer | Kayode | 1 | 0-0-1 |
| Total | 4 games | 0-1-3 |
This story was published on 05 March 2026. It was written by Dennis Flood. The image at the top of this story was generated using AI.
