Adrian Clarke looks at key tactical points and players who can be decisive in Matchweek 34.
Player analysis: Bryan Mbeumo & Yoane Wissa (Brentford)
Only one Premier League club contains two players who have scored more than 15 goals so far this season and that is Brentford, who face Nottingham Forest on Thursday.
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Mbeumo (18 Premier League goals) and Wissa (16 goals) have been a revelation for Thomas Frank’s side, causing opponents double trouble throughout an excellent 2024/25 campaign.
They have both featured on the same scoresheet in seven different top-flight matches - more than any other forward duo in the division – and are arguably the Premier League’s best attacking partnership.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush have real promise of course, while Wolverhampton Wanderers' pair Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen also work fabulously together.
Yet across this season, no two players from the same side have delivered goals as consistently as Mbeumo and Wissa.
Most productive PL pairings 24/25
| Player 1 | Goals | Player 2 | Goals |
| Mohamed Salah | 28 | Luis Diaz | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Mbeumo | 18 | Yoane Wissa | 16 |
| Matheus Cunha | 15 | Jorgen Strand Larsen | 13 |
| Cole Palmer | 14 | Nicolas Jackson | 10 |
Wissa is just one goal or assist away from registering his 20th direct goal involvement of the season, with Mbeumo on 24 already.
When you analyse how many times two players from the same club have managed 20+ goals/assists across the last five years, only once before has that been from a team not regarded as one of the traditional big six.
This was last season when Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon both reached that landmark with Newcastle United.
For Brentford to boast a pair of individuals this productive is a tremendous achievement.
Not a traditional pairing
It is important to note that Mbeumo and Wissa are not a traditional strike pairing.
Although they can form a standard front two if Frank opts for that type of shape, Wissa is in essence a lone striker, with Mbeumo used as Brentford’s right-sided forward.
Mbeumo has license to drift infield to join in with penalty box predator Wissa, but most of his touches are towards the flank.
These season heat maps, below, show the positions each occupies most.
A special connection
What makes the Mbeumo and Wissa combination so impressive is the way they always look for one another inside the final third.
Brentford’s tactical approach means they are not "high touch players" - but whenever Frank's side do spring an attack, they revel in their link-ups.
Mbeumo has surprisingly only made two assists for Wissa this season, but an exceptionally high percentage of the passes he makes to the striker (27.3 per cent) lead to goalscoring opportunities.
Jacob Murphy’s efficient combination play with Isak (32.1 per cent) is the division’s only partnership that fashions more shots per pass.
Leading PL pass combinations 24/25
| Player 1 | Player 2 | P1 to P2 Passes* | P1 to P2 chances created | % of Passes = Chance created |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Murphy | Alexander Isak | 53 | 17 | 32.1% |
| Bryan Mbeumo | Yoane Wissa | 66 | 18 | 27.3% |
| Enzo Fernandez | Nicolas Jackson | 66 | 17 | 25.8% |
| Luis Diaz | Mohamed Salah | 62 | 15 | 24.2% |
| Leif Davis | Liam Delap | 59 | 13 | 22.0% |
*Minimum 50 passes
From a Brentford perspective, left-footed Mbeumo finds Mikkel Damsgaard and Christian Norgaard more regularly than he does Wissa, but they are not on the receiving end of as many key passes.
Wissa has laid on an impressive 18 chances from just 66 passes across the campaign, and has at times developed a telepathic understanding.
Who Mbeumo has combined most with in 24/25
| Mikkel Damsgaard | Christian Norgaard | Yoane Wissa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mins played together | 2,510 | 2,377 | 2,479 |
| Passes | 118 | 100 | 66 |
| Assists | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Chances created | 6 | 8 | 18 |
DR Congo international Wissa likes to stay between the width of the penalty area as much as possible, but when in possession he quickly picks out Mbeumo.
Wissa does not pass to anyone else as much, creating seven chances and three assists for Mbeumo so far.
Who Wissa has combined most with in 24/25
| Mbeumo | Damsgaard | Norgaard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mins played together | 2,479 | 2,101 | 2,134 |
| Passes | 74 | 57 | 37 |
| Assists | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Chances created | 7 | 3 | 2 |
This brilliant assist at Southampton saw Wissa play in Mbeumo on the overlap, and he finished emphatically.
When these two players combine, it more often than not causes major problems, like this.
Mbeumo's goal v Southampton
Brentford prefer to hit opponents on transitions, so when they break it is important to have attackers who are willing to make dynamic runs, with and without the ball.
Over the course of 2024/25, Mbeumo and Wissa have stepped up in this department, featuring inside the division’s top six for sprints by forward players.
PL forwards with most sprints in 24/25
| Forward | Sprints |
|---|---|
| Bryan Mbeumo | 341 |
| Nicolas Jackson | 334 |
| Mohamed Salah | 303 |
| Ollie Watkins | 292 |
| Anthony Elanga | 289 |
| Yoane Wissa | 284 |
Striking a great balance
Football’s best attacking duos tend to feature two players with strengths that complement each other.
This is certainly the case with Brentford.
Mbeumo is a brilliant ball carrier, who travels up the pitch with great power and skill. No other Premier League player can match his eight goals this season from ball carries.
That is is also a high right across European football’s top five leagues.
Wissa is the more varied and adaptable finisher.
Doing his best work inside the opposition box, the 28-year-old has scored all of his goals from relatively close range, using both feet and his head.
How Wissa scores his goals 24/25
| Type of goal | Total | Location | Total |
| Left foot | 4 | Inside the box | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right foot | 8 | Outside the box | 0 |
| Header | 4 | - | 16 |
The graphic below shows just how many goals he has scored from central areas that are between two and 10 yards out.
Mbeumo is predominantly left-footed and only scored his first goal of the season with his right foot, last time out against Brighton & Hove Albion.
He also has the ability to score from further out, with none of his strikes coming from inside the six-yard box.
How Mbeumo scores his goals 24/25
| Type of goal | Total | Location | Total |
| Left foot | 17 | Inside the box | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right foot | 1 | Outside the box | 2 |
| Header | 0 | - | 18 |
The 25-year-old is similar to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in terms of where he shoots from, dominating the right portion of the penalty area when he cuts inside.
There is no doubt that Mbeumo and Wissa will be a handful to contain at the City Ground on Thursday.
