Evertonvs.Brentford

The big question over the international break was whether or not Mbeumo and Wissa's setbacks were serious, or simply precautionary, ahead of a hectic schedule in English football over the next month, as both withdrew from their respective national squads.

Wissa's return from a month-long absence with an ankle injury has been joyous for the Brentford faithful, with the DR Congo forward netting four in three starts since his comeback.

Mbeumo's influence has been equally as crucial, with eight Premier League goals so far ranking second only to Erling Haaland in the scoring charts.

There was further good news in attack for the Brentford supporters, as manager Thomas Frank revealed in his pre-match conference that new signing Igor Thiago will be in the squad this weekend, ahead of a potentially long-awaited debut, following a setback suffered in preseason.

Ethan Pinnock also withdrew from international duty with Jamaica, but like Mbeumo and Wissa, is set to return here, and should partner Nathan Collins, who was in the Ireland squad, at centre-back.

Frank had plenty of other members of his squad away during the break, including Danish trio Mikkel Damsgaard, Christian Norgaard and Mads Roerslev, as well as goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who played for the Netherlands in Bosnia on Tuesday.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Kristoffer Ajer and Josh Dasilva remain sidelined, with the latter not expected to recover from his knee injury until 2025.

There was no update by Frank on the fitness of long-term absentee Rico Henry, who has made strides in his recovery following over a year on sidelines with knee troubles, and Aaron Hickey is not expected to make a return any time soon, having already missed the whole of 2024.

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Van den Berg; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Wissa, Lewis-Potter