Brentford face a difficult trip to Everton on Saturday, with supporters sweating on the fitness of star man Bryan Mbeumo.
The 2024/25 season has gone largely as Brentford fans would have expected, with the majority of results coming as expected. Defeat in stoppage time to neighbours Fulham certainly stung the Bees, however, but they managed to bounce straight back against Bournemouth.
Everton pose tricky opponents on Saturday, with the fitness of Bryan Mbeumo a potential deciding factor in the match. Brentford fans will, naturally, pray he is available to play.
Is Bryan Mbeumo injured for Brentford this weekend?
In completing 93 of the 98 minutes played against Bournemouth in Brentford's last Premier League match before the international break, Mbeumo picked up a minor injury that meant he had to withdraw from the Cameroon squad last week.
Cameroon manager Marc Brys highlighted Mbeumo's injury, suggesting it wasn't worth risking him during their AFCON qualifying matches when they had already finished top of the group.
"We have to finish first in this group since we are already qualified [...] We will give other players a chance because we have some injured players. Mbeumo is injured, Zambo Anguissa is unavailable and Carlos Baleba too," Brys said.
However, it's still expected that Mbeumo will have at least some involvement against Everton. The 25-year-old has been given a 75 per cent chance of playing on the Fantasy Premier League website, with his withdrawal from the Cameroon squad simply a precaution.
Brentford fans will hope Mbeumo is fit in time for the trip to Everton, with his eight goals and one assist this season highlighting his importance to the side. The departure of Ivan Toney hasn't been felt at all since Mbeumo has stepped up - but an injury to the forward could total a disaster.
A win could see Brentford close in on the European places - defeat might drag them closer to the relegation zone.
