Brentford are back at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday looking to extend an unbeaten start to the Premier League season against Sunderland .
Keith Andrews' side followed their opening-day win against Tottenham Hotspur with a 1-1 draw at Leeds United, where Kevin Schade's first-half goal was cancelled out by Dominic Calvert-Lewin late on. The Bees had 22 shots at Elland Road but struggled to make them count.
Sunderland travel south with three points from their opening two. They lost 2-1 at Ipswich Town during the first weekend of the Premier League before Wilson Isidor scored the winner against Fulham at the Stadium of Light.
Régis Le Bris' side are no ordinary early-season opponent either. Sunderland finished seventh last season after returning to the Premier League and qualified for the Europa League, one of the best campaigns by a promoted club in the competition's history.
Sepp van den Berg remains sidelined after missing the start of the season, while Antoni Milambo is also unavailable.
The main question surrounds Mathias Jensen.
Jensen started the 3-0 victory over Tottenham but missed the draw at Leeds through injury. Mikkel Damsgaard came into the midfield in his absence, alongside Mamadou Sangare and Vitaly Janelt.
Yehor Yarmoliuk had been carrying a knock before the Leeds game but was cleared to be involved.
Andrews also has El Hadji Malick Diouf available after the Senegal international was named among the substitutes at Elland Road following his move from West Ham.
Jaidon Anthony made his first Premier League start for Brentford against Leeds, with Dango Ouattara making way for the summer signing.
Kevin Schade should have done his chances of keeping his place no harm. His clever finish at Elland Road was his first goal of the season after he had also won a penalty against Tottenham.
Whilst Igor Thiago is expected to lead the line as usual for the Bees.
Sunderland 's opening two games have produced very different results.
The defeat at Ipswich was followed by a much tighter performance against Fulham. Le Bris' side spent long periods without the ball but prevented a single shot on target from Fulham.
Habib Diarra helped create the winner after coming off the bench but was then forced off himself just 18 minutes later. Le Bris said afterwards that the problem did not initially appear serious, although the midfielder has been undergoing assessment ahead of the trip to Brentford.
There could also be new faces in the travelling squad.
New faces could also be amongst the travelling squad for Sunderland who completed the deadline-day signing of Malick Fofana from Lyon for around £30 million and brought Kevin Danso in from Tottenham on loan with an obligation to buy.
Fofana gives Le Bris another option in attack alongside Brian Brobbey, Isidor, Nilson Angulo and Enzo Le Fée.
Granit Xhaka remains one of the central figures in midfield after playing such a large part in Sunderland's seventh-place finish last season.
The midfield contest should be one of the more interesting parts of this game.
Sangare and Janelt were excellent for long periods against Leeds, combining for seven tackles and eight interceptions. Sangare also completed more passes than any other Brentford player.
The Bees were able to pin Leeds back before half-time without turning that pressure into more than one goal. That may be the key again against a Sunderland side that showed against Fulham it can defend comfortably for long periods.
There is still pace in Le Bris' team when Sunderland do break, particularly if Fofana is involved for the first time.
Andrews has first-hand experience of the problems Sunderland can cause. The Bees lost 2-1 at the Stadium of Light last season before responding with a 3-0 win at the Gtech in January, when Igor Thiago scored twice and Yehor Yarmoliuk added the third.
Sunderland proved last season that they can take points from established Premier League sides, and their summer was largely about retaining that group while adding extra experience and depth.
Brentford host Sunderland at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, September 5, with kick-off at 3pm BST.
It will be the first meeting between the clubs since Brentford's 3-0 home victory in January.
The game has not been selected for live television coverage in the UK and falls under the Saturday 3pm blackout.
In the United States, the match is available on NBC and Peacock.
Sunderland should make this more difficult than Tottenham did on the opening weekend, particularly if they can keep the game compact and force Brentford to be patient.
The Bees have still shown enough going forward to edge it.
Sangare and Janelt have given Andrews control in midfield, Schade is already off the mark and Brentford created enough at Leeds to suggest there should be chances again at home.
Prediction: Brentford 2-1 Sunderland
