Brentford play host to Bristol City on Wednesday evening looking to extend their unbeaten record in the Championship to 19 matches.
While the Bees sit two points adrift of the automatic promotion places with a game in hand, the visitors are down in ninth position after defeat at Derby County.
Match preview
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Having avoided defeat in the Championship since the middle of October, Thomas Frank will acknowledge that his side will be regarded as favourites for every game that they play in the second tier.
Despite the work required to close down Norwich City and Swansea City, there is also the risk of complacency, something which may have been an issue when hosting bottom-of-the-table Wycombe Wanderers at the weekend.
The Bees eventually prevailed by a 7-2 scoreline, but Frank would have been disappointed that their opponents were twice let back into the game before half time.
The team talk at the break had its desired effect, although it remains to be seen whether it can have a long-term impact on a squad who are having to cope without defender Pontus Jansson.
Winston Reid has been brought in on loan from West Ham United, and the New Zealand international's leadership qualities could be exactly what Brentford need at this stage of the season.
From Bristol City's perspective, they may welcome the opportunity to get another of their toughest away games of the season out of the way.
Dean Holden's side have lost their last three fixtures on the road, a run which has included encounters at leaders Norwich and improving Derby County.
Sitting three points adrift of the playoff places, Holden and his squad must ensure that they do not get dragged closer to the mid-table positions during a packed February schedule.
On the flip side, Holden will see this as an opportunity for his players to express themselves as underdogs, aware that playing with more freedom in the final third may help them cause a shock in West London.
Brentford Championship form: WWWWDW
Brentford form (all competitions): LWWLDW
Bristol City Championship form: WLWLWL
Bristol City form (all competitions): WWLWWL
Team News
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Reid is expected to start the game on the Brentford substitutes' bench after not playing a competitive game since December 4.
Vitaly Janelt could return in midfield ahead of Saman Ghoddos, while Bryan Mbeumo may take a place among the replacements.
Henri Lansbury is in contention for a place in the Bristol City squad after signing from Aston Villa on a free transfer.
With Tommy Rowe expected to miss out, Jack Hunt could switch to left-back with Zak Vyner being used on the opposite side of the defence.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Raya; Dalsgaard, Pinnock, Sorensen, Henry; Dasilva, Janelt, Jensen; Fosu-Henry, Toney, Canos
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Vyner, Mawson, Kalas, Hunt; Semenyo, Bakinson, Nagy, Palmer; Diedhiou, Wells
We say: Brentford 3-1 Bristol City
The opportunity to overtake Swansea may not necessarily benefit Brentford, who have sometimes struggled to turn draws into wins this season. Nevertheless, we cannot back against the Bees, particularly with the visitors struggling for any kind of consistency in the second tier.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Brentford win with a probability of 62.05%. A draw had a probability of 22.1% and a win for Bristol City had a probability of 15.85%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brentford win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.94%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.97%) and 2-1 (9.7%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.47%), while for a Bristol City win it was 0-1 (5.66%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 2.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Brentford would win this match.
