Brentford open their pre-season schedule on Saturday when they take on League Two side AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane (1pm kick-off).
Johnnie Jackson’s side finished 10th in the fourth tier last term and will provide a tough test for the Bees in their first game of the 2024/25 campaign.
Tickets for the fixture are available to buy from the Gtech Community Stadium box office until 5pm on Friday. Tickets can also be purchased on the day at Plough Lane, with a £2 price increase, on the right-hand side of gate 5. More information can be found here.
Unable to make it to Plough Lane? Download the Brentford FC app to exclusively stream the Bees’ first pre-season friendly live from 1pm.
Alex Lawes, Playmaker Stats: Physical Wimbledon will provide tough test
Brentford ramp up their pre-season preparations with their opening friendly of the summer against AFC Wimbledon down in south London this weekend.
The Bees have made just the solitary summer addition thus far with the arrival of Igor Thiago from Club Brugge – and a lot of the headlines are expected to be around the Brazilian striker, who has signed from the Belgian Jupiler Pro League.
AFC Wimbledon, on the other hand, have been a lot busier in the transfer window, but did recently lose left-back Jack Currie to Oxford United for a reported fee of £350,000, which follows the winter sale of key man Ali Al-Hamadi to Ipswich Town.
They have added a fair bit of League Two experience to their side, though, with the arrivals of John-Joe O’Toole, Alistair Smith and Joe Pigott. The signing of Pigott would suggest that Johnnie Jackson, who made a name for himself in coaching circles with excellent and effective set-piece routines at Charlton Athletic, is looking to harness that strength and the early pre-season games are the best time to get to grips with the more direct style.
The arrival of Pigott is expected to ensure that Wimbledon are more accurate with their overarching tactical principles of Jackson so, whilst pre-season remains primarily about getting Brentford’s players up to speed and up to the correct fitness levels, this will pose an intriguing tactical test against a side looking to play a direct manner which may have found a gem to help them play that way.
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