Bournemouth and Brentford continued their pre-season preparations with positive results over the weekend.

The Cherries drew 2-2 with Real Betis, while Brentford recorded two victories over Rennes. Here are the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points from all three matches.

• READ MORE: FPL pre-season: Wissa brace + first look at Jaissle’s Newcastle
• READ MORE: FPL pre-season: Gomes good, Garcia debut + Sarr lively

BOURNEMOUTH 2-2 REAL BETIS

• Goals: Tavernier, Evanilson
• Assists: Toth, Evanilson

Bournemouth XI: Petrović, Smith (Aarons 66), Hill, Diakité (Silva 46), Truffert (Rees-Dottin 80), Cook (Tóth 46), Scott, Kluivert (Adli 46, Unal 90), Tavernier (Stevens 80), Rayan (Gannon-Doak 61), Evanilson (Jebbison 61).

SCOUT NOTES

• Bournemouth maintained their unbeaten pre-season with a 2-2 draw against Real Betis in Spain. Marco Rose named a strong starting XI, giving us another useful indication of how the Cherries could line up when the competitive action begins.
• Justin Kluivert (£6.0m) once again operated in the number 10 role, continuing a pattern we’ve seen throughout pre-season. He couldn’t add to the hat-trick he scored against Genoa, but another start in his preferred central position is encouraging for his FPL prospects.
• The wide roles were also worth noting. Rayan (£6.5m) started on the right, with Marcus Tavernier (£6.0m) operating from the left. Some line-up graphics had the pair on opposite flanks, but that wasn’t how Bournemouth actually set up.
• Betis applied most of the early pressure before Bournemouth gradually grew into the contest. Tavernier eventually opened the scoring after an excellent move involving Adrien Truffert (£5.5m) and Evanilson (£6.0m). Truffert’s low pass found the Brazilian, whose clever backheel released the onrushing Tavernier into the box. He then found the bottom corner with a low finish.
• Evanilson was heavily involved again after the break. Alex Tóth (£5.0m) slipped the ball into his path and the striker produced a composed left-footed finish to restore Bournemouth’s lead. Combined with his assist for Tavernier, that made it two attacking returns for Evanilson on the night.
• There was a slight concern when Evanilson came off after an hour, although cramp rather than an injury forced his withdrawal. Daniel Jebbison replaced him and once again received minutes after scoring in the 10-1 win over Genoa.
• Alex Scott (£6.0m) also retained his place in the starting XI following his brace against Genoa. Interestingly, the midfielder took an indirect free-kick, adding another small set-piece detail to monitor as pre-season progresses. His afternoon ended prematurely, however, when a late first-half altercation resulted in both Scott and Antony receiving red cards.
• New signing António Silva (£5.0m) made his second Bournemouth appearance at half-time, replacing Bafodé Diakité (£5.0m). Ben Gannon-Doak (£5.0m) and Max Aarons also featured from the bench, with the latter back at Bournemouth following his loan spell with Rangers last season.
• Injuries remain something to monitor. Amine Adli (£5.0m) came on at half-time but later had to leave the field through injury. David Brooks (£5.0m), Ryan Christie (£5.0m), Tyler Adams (£5.0m), Alvaro Rodriguez (£6.0m) and Julio Soler (£4.0m) all missed the match. According to broadcaster Jordan Clark, Rose hopes to have Brooks and Christie back soon. Adams will be assessed over the coming days, while there was no specific update on Rodriguez or Soler.
• Overall, the draw provided further encouragement regarding Bournemouth’s attacking options. Tavernier has now scored in successive friendlies, while Evanilson’s goal and assist continued his productive pre-season – although profligacy from the past few seasons will no doubt prove a deterrent to many managers. Kluivert’s repeated use as the number 10 is another important trend.

BRENTFORD 2-1 RENNES

• Goals: Meghoma, Furo
• Assists: Nunes x2

Brentford XI: Valdimarsson, Ji-soo, Ajer (Stephenson 46), Schuster, Henry (Mawene 73), Konak, Yarmoliuk (Grey 46), Damsgaard, Schade (Meghoma 60), Furo, Dasilva (Nunes 46).

SCOUT NOTES

• Brentford came from behind to beat Rennes 2-1 in the first of their two weekend friendlies. The match took place behind closed doors at Rennes’ La Piverdière training centre, so Brentford’s official match report provides our source of information for the contest.
• Despite the low-key setting, there was plenty of first-team experience in Keith Andrews’ starting XI. Kristoffer Ajer (£4.5m), Rico Henry (£4.5m), Mikkel Damsgaard (£5.5m), Kevin Schade (£6.0m) and Josh Dasilva (£5.0m) all featured from the off, alongside summer signing Jannik Schuster (£4.5m).
• Henry’s inclusion was particularly notable. The left-back’s last Premier League appearance came back in March, so another pre-season start represents useful game-time as he builds towards the new campaign. He completed 73 minutes before making way for Theo Mawene.
• Schuster also continued his integration following his summer move from Salzburg. He played the full match in defence, while Ajer featured for the opening 45 minutes.
• Brentford started brightly but fell behind nine minutes before half-time. Hákon Valdimarsson (£4.5m) had already produced an excellent one-on-one save before Alan Do Marcolino eventually found the bottom corner to give Rennes the lead.
• There were some encouraging signs from Brentford’s more established attackers. Damsgaard created several openings, including a clever backheel for Dasilva shortly after the restart. The midfielder’s resulting effort crashed against the far post. Damsgaard later produced another flick to release Andre Grey and was involved in the build-up to the winning goal.
• Schade also featured for an hour before Jayden Meghoma replaced him. The substitute went on to score Brentford’s equaliser, controlling Gustavo Nunes’ pass before finding the net with a low finish off the post. Nunes made a particularly strong impact after his half-time introduction. Having supplied Meghoma for the equaliser, he added another assist seven minutes later. Damsgaard found the Brazilian, who squared for Kaye Furo to convert from close range and complete the turnaround.
• Minutes for Henry and new arrival Schuster were useful to note, while Damsgaard and Schade added some senior attacking interest to what was otherwise a mixed Bees XI.

BRENTFORD 4-2 RENNES

• Goals: Thiago, Pinnock, Dango, Wilson
• Assists: Jensen, Janelt, Wilson, Anthony

Brentford XI: Kelleher; Hickey (Arthur 64), Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Jensen, Sangaré (Carvalho 64); Ouattara (Mawene 87), Thiago (Wilson 46), Anthony (Meghoma 64)

SCOUT NOTES:

• Brentford rounded off their Saturday double-header with an impressive 4-2 win over Rennes at Roazhon Park. There were no highlights available and we also had no underlying match data to work with. Therefore, much of our information again comes from Brentford’s official match report.
• One of the biggest FPL developments was the return of Igor Thiago (£8.0m). The Brazilian made his first appearance of pre-season following his involvement at the World Cup. He immediately led the line, with Dango Ouattara (£6.5m) on the right and new signing Jaidon Anthony (£6.0m) on the left. Thiago didn’t take long to make his mark.
• Mathias Jensen (£5.5m) delivered an in-swinging corner towards the back post, where the striker rose highest to head Brentford into the lead after 19 minutes. He remained involved before the break, later releasing Dango with a through-ball and seeing another effort blocked.
• Brentford’s set-piece threat was particularly noticeable. Just nine minutes after Thiago’s opener, Vitaly Janelt (£5.0m) delivered from the opposite side and Ethan Pinnock (£4.5m) powered home another header. Two goals from corners in the opening half certainly gives FPL managers something to monitor.
• Jensen’s positioning was also interesting. The midfielder occupied the number 10 role, a position he shared with Mikkel Damsgaard for plenty of last season. Damsgaard featured in Brentford’s earlier friendly on Saturday, so their final pre-season outing could provide another clue over how those attacking midfield minutes will be shared.
• Summer signing Mamadou Sangaré (£5.5m) made his Brentford debut following his move from Lens. According to @AlexVolloFPL on X, he registered 12 defensive contributions (DefCons) during his 64 minutes on the pitch. That would have been enough for DefCon points in a Premier League match, continuing the excellent numbers he produced in Ligue 1 last season.
• There was plenty of experience at the back, too. Caoimhín Kelleher (£5.0m) started behind Aaron Hickey (£4.5m), Nathan Collins (£5.5m), Pinnock and Keane Lewis-Potter (£5.5m). Rennes scored twice but, according to Brentford’s report, Kelleher also made several saves throughout the contest.
• Thiago made way for Callum Wilson (£5.5m) at half-time and his replacement wasted little time making an impact. Wilson first supplied the low delivery for Dango to convert before finding the far corner himself just two minutes later. He almost added another late on, too. Wilson was understandably pleased with his involvement, particularly with Brentford continuing to create opportunities for him:

“It’s nice to be getting chances in this team. I was delighted to get on the scoresheet and to help other people, but I’m disappointed I didn’t score more.

“It’s a feeling of frustration, but that’s the striker in me. It’s nice to be getting chances in this team.”

• Head coach Keith Andrews was also encouraged by what he saw. With Brentford now approaching the end of pre-season, he felt the performance showed signs of the identity he wants from his team:

“I’m pleased with a lot of aspects of the game. When you start building a pre-season programme, you want to try and hit certain parts of the game at certain stages of pre-season.

“The obvious one is the physical output that the players were able to put into it, to put them in a good place for the next few weeks and beyond.

“I thought we had some really good play today, some really intelligent football, and a performance that looked like us, which isn’t always the case in some pre-season games as you build towards that. That was pretty pleasing.”

• Overall, there were several positive FPL signs despite the lack of footage and detailed data. Thiago returned with a goal, Wilson made an immediate impact and Sangaré produced an encouraging DefCon total on debut. Jensen’s number 10 role and Brentford’s success from corners also give us a few more things to monitor in their final pre-season outing.