Brentford assessed by Southampton boss Hasenhuttl ahead of weekend clash

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has said he is expecting a ‘very, very tough’ game against Brentford this weekend.

The Bees travel to St Mary’s on Saturday in good spirits after beating Leeds United 5-2 last time out.

It has been a decent start to the season for Thomas Frank’s side and they will be eager to carry it on against the Saints.

The London club are currently 8th in the Premier League table and have picked up nine points from their opening six matches.

‘Strong’...

Hasenhuttl has had words of praise about Brentford:

“We know that we are facing a very strong opponent, a very good team that had a very good first year.

“Very often you speak about a difficult second year you have in the Premier League but even after losing (Christian) Eriksen in the summer, it seems that they have stayed hungry, their enthusiasm is still there.”

He added:

“Their passing is exceptionally good and that is a reason why they are so tough to beat. I’m expecting a very, very tough game for us but we also want to show ourselves how good we are.”

Ivan Toney was the star of the show for the Bees against Leeds and they did very well to keep hold of him in the summer transfer window.

Summer signings Ben Mee, Aaron Hickey and Keane Lewis-Potter have all slotted in nicely into the team, whilst Mikkel Damsgaard will be keen to show what he can full do over the next few matches after his switch from Sampdoria last month.

Southampton go into this match sat in 12th place and have won two out of their first six outings.

They beat Chelsea in their last game at home but were beaten 1-0 away at Wolves last time out.