Brentford head coach Thomas Frank is anticipating to face "very intense and physical" opposition in Everton as they travel to Goodison Park on Saturday.  

The Bees extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 12 matches on Monday, which Frank has described as "remarkable for any team in the world", with a 3-2 win over west London rivals Fulham, and will be hoping to not fall at the 13th hurdle. 

They face an Everton side in contrasting form. Sat in the relegation zone having played a game more than those around them, the Toffees have won twice, including a 1-0 triumph over league leaders Arsenal, and suffered three defeats in the six matches since Sean Dyche took charge in January. 

Form is something that tends to go out of the window when the referee blows his whistle for kick off, and Frank expects nothing different and a tough encounter. 

“I expect they will be very intense in their pressing," he said on Thursday afternoon. 

"I expect them to be very intense and physical in the second balls and duels. They will be very good at defending, so it will be difficult to find a way in there to try to score goals.

"I think they will be very good at creating crosses on the side, and very good on set-pieces, so that’s a challenge we need to deal with. Hopefully we can deal with and find ways through it.”

During his press conference at Jersey Road, the Dane spoke of his respect for his opposite number, having encountered him multiple times on and off the pitch. 

"I like him a lot," he said when asked about the 51-year-old. He went on to add that he sent him a text message to congratulate him on getting the Everton job and welcome him back to the Premier League "where he belongs". 

Frank feels that in a short space of time Dyche is having a positive impact in Merseyside.  

“I think Sean has definitely put his mark already, him and his coaching staff. 

"They are running much harder, you can see that on the visual but also on the numbers, they are very organised. I would say, defensively, very difficult to break down. 

"Big praise for Arsenal, of course, for 4-0, but until the first goal, they didn’t have a sniff in 40 minutes or so before Saka scored, so there is a very strong unit, they are very good on set-pieces. I think they are very good at creating crosses, players arriving the box, so it’s going to be another tough, tough test.”

Even the most optimistic of supporters could never have foreseen the season Brentford are having. Currently ninth in the Premier League table on 38 points, the Bees are four points behind Liverpool in fifth and seven behind Tottenham Hotspur in fourth, and have two games in hand on the latter. 

While Brentford fans are now dreaming of going on a European tour next season, the prospect of hearing the Champions League anthem at the Gtech Community Stadium might not be as farfetched of an idea as first perceived, particularly if momentum can be maintained. 

When asked about the possibility of being one point behind fourth and in the running for Europe's premier competition, Frank was almost lost for words.  

"That is surreal, that is very surreal.

"I love that the fans are dreaming. Of course we also dream, and we want to end as high as possible, and when you go twelve games unbeaten that positivity just grows and you want more.

"Just like when it’s the other way round, when you lose five on the spin, you’re a little bit ‘ooh, will we win a football match?’. But right now we’re allowed to dream and then it’s my responsibility to make sure that we all put the hard work in, but I think it’s so ingrained in the players.”

  • Away day woes 

While Brentford's form in recent months has been outstanding, there is one statistic that has gone under the radar. 

The Bees have won just two of eleven fixtures on the road this campaign, a 2-1 win against Manchester City before the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2-0 against West Ham United in December, albeit six of them are draws. 

When asked by VAVEL to put into words why it has been so difficult to convert those draws into wins, Frank was unsure at first but attributed it to home advantage and small margins going against them. 

“I don’t know," he said before taking a long pause to think. 

“I guess it’s a tiny bit about that home advantage with the fans that can move it a bit.

"Sometimes it’s also a little bit of coincidences or margins not going your way. For example, away to Nottingham Forest where we were leading until the sixth or seventh-minute of injury time.

"Crystal Palace we could’ve won that, [we had] two big chances, we hit the post and so on in injury time. I don’t know how to exactly describe why, but I always feel we can go away and win, which going to [Manchester] City and West Ham are pretty good examples that we can do that, but I am also very aware that it will be difficult on Saturday."

  • Lewis-Potter sidelined for 1-2 months, Damsgaard ready to step up

It has been confirmed that Keane Lewis-Potter will be sidelined for "1-2 months" after undergoing a minor knee surgery following an injury during an in-house friendly before the Fulham match. 

"I think he is very unlucky, [it was] in an in house game we had," Frank said.

"He started the season quite well, got into the team, looked sharp, got injured, came back and was finally fighting his way to get minutes against Crystal Palace. 

"[He] looked sharp again, been looking sharp in the weeks going up to it, but unfortunately that is part of life and part of football that they get injuries." 

The head coach added that the 22-year-old will be a huge miss and, when fit, offers something that the other attacking options don't. 

“I really miss him already. I think he gives us something in the team that none of the other players have.

"He’s a little bit different from Bryan [Mbeumo], a little bit different from [Yoane] Wissa, so he gives us something different. He was back on a good trajectory like he was before the first injury.” 

A player that is said to be ready to step up in his absence is Mikkel Damsgaard. 

The 22-year-old was given his second Premier League start on Monday and was voted the Supporters' Man of the Match for his display in midfield. VAVEL asked if he feels he is ready to have an impact in the last few months of the season, Frank responded: 

“I actually do. Of course, he took a very good step on Monday, and he needs to take more good steps to have even more impact, but he was ready to get that start and I am so pleased that he performed.

"He looked sharp, very sharp in his offensive actions, he was playing with a very good intensity, so I was very pleased with that, and there is more in him.”