Brentford lineup vs. Tottenham: Predicted XI for Keith Andrews's side in Premier League opener

Brentford host Tottenham Hotspur in their opening 2026-27 Premier League match on Saturday evening, when record signing Mamadou Sangare will get his first taste of English top-flight football.

The £41m midfielder - signed from Lens in the summer transfer window - was on target in Brentford's final pre-season friendly, a 7-0 crushing of Eintracht Frankfurt at the Gtech Community Stadium on August 15.

Despite the presence of the attack-minded Mikkel Damsgaard, Sangare is already a midfield shoo-in alongside Vitaly Janelt and Mathias Jensen, two of the longest-serving players in the Bees' squad.

The midfield triumvirate will operate behind a menacing attacking unit of Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago, who registered an exceptional eight goal involvements between them in the obliteration of Frankfurt.

Thiago found the net twice in that friendly, little surprise given the Brazilian boasted the best conversion rate of any Premier League player to have 25+ shots last season, putting away 26.2% of his opportunities en route to scoring 22 goals in total.

Head coach Keith Andrews does have one defensive concern to work around, though, as Sepp van den Berg is expected to spend three months on the sidelines with an unspecified injury sustained over the summer.

As a result, Kristoffer Ajer and Nathan Collins will act as the central barrier for Caoimhin Kelleher, who will also be protected by Michael Kayode and Keane Lewis-Potter on the opening day.

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Kayode, Ajer, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Sangare, Janelt; Ouattara, Jensen, Schade; Thiago