Sound like you know football. Even if you don't.
Premier League 2026/27 — Matchweek 11
Brentford badge
Brentford
VS
Everton badge
Everton
Monday 23 November 2026 · 20:00 GMT · 📍 Gtech Community Stadium, London

Pre-match Talking Points

Match talking points will appear here before kick-off.

Team Talking Points

Brentford badge
Premier League 2026/27
  • 1
    Brentford's last game was a 2-0 defeat at high-flying Brighton, and it turned on a red card. Striker Igor Thiago was initially booked after a tussle with Brighton's Chema Andrés, but referee Michael Oliver upgraded it to red after a look at the pitchside monitor.
  • 2
    Manager Keith Andrews wasn't thrilled. He suggested Thiago had been provoked and questioned how the decision was reached, while also accepting his players need to take responsibility for their conduct. 'We need to learn and grow as a group' was the line – which is manager-speak for 'we'll be having words'.
  • 3
    Despite that, Brentford's season is genuinely decent: they're eighth with 14 points from 10 games, and that was only their second league defeat of the season. Five draws means they're hard to beat, if not always easy to watch win.
  • 4
    They've already had a statement result, beating Chelsea 3-0 back in October. For a club with a fraction of Chelsea's budget, that's the kind of afternoon fans will be bringing up for years, so feel free to mention it.
  • 5
    Next up after the break is Everton at home on 21 November – and with Thiago likely facing a suspension after the red, Andrews may need to find goals from elsewhere. Brentford are only two points off the European places, so it's a big one.
🍺
Top thing to say down the pub Only two league defeats all season and they battered Chelsea 3-0 – Brentford are a lot better than the 'plucky little Bees' label they still get.
🚫
Avoid saying "Brentford? Aren't they the ones that just got promoted?" – they've been in the Premier League since 2021. Say that and a Bees fan will politely explain the last five years to you, in full.
Everton badge
Premier League 2026/27
  • 1
    Everton are fifth in the Premier League after coming from behind to beat promoted Coventry 3-1 last Friday. It was their third league win in a row. If you'd told an Everton fan a couple of years ago they'd be looking down on most of the league in November, they'd have asked what you were drinking.
  • 2
    Thierno Barry was the hero, scoring twice in about four minutes and setting up another, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall adding the third. Barry is the name to drop right now. He's turned into exactly the kind of big, awkward centre-forward Goodison fans always loved, now playing at the new stadium.
  • 3
    David Moyes was refreshingly honest afterwards. He admitted Coventry made it 'really difficult' and Everton were lucky not to concede a penalty for a James Tarkowski challenge before half-time. Managers who admit they got away with one are rare, so enjoy it.
  • 4
    That win was Moyes's 592nd game in charge of Everton, level with Harry Catterick for the most in the club's history. Catterick won two league titles, so it's a proper bit of company. Assuming he's in the dugout at Brentford on 23 November, Moyes takes the record outright.
  • 5
    The fixture list after the break is spicy, with a Merseyside derby against Liverpool coming up in the next few weeks. For the first time in a long while, Everton might go into it higher up the table than their neighbours care to admit.
🍺
Top thing to say down the pub Moyes is about to become the longest-serving manager in Everton's history, and the team's actually playing like it. Fifth in November isn't a fluke anymore.
🚫
Avoid saying "Everton are always in a relegation scrap" — that line was depressingly accurate for a while, which is exactly why fans in the top five will take great pleasure in correcting you.

← Back to home