Two of last season's beaten playoff semi-finalists meet at Griffin Park on Saturday afternoon as the new Championship campaign gets underway.

Ipswich Town will be hoping to use the disappointment of missing out on promotion last time out to spur them on to success, but they face a tough opening task away at Brentford.

Brentford

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Having reached the playoffs in their first season back in the second tier for some 21 years, the pressure is now on new boss Marinus Dijkhuizen to repeat - or better - the work of the man he is replacing in the Griffin Park dugout.

A summer of change, in which a raft of new faces have arrived, leaves Brentford at something of a crossroads heading into the new campaign.

The 'moneyball' approach which has been adopted, where focus is slanted towards statistical analysis to provide the desired results, could prove to be an unmitigated disaster or a major success.

Mark Warburton certainly left some big boots to fill, but in Dijkhuizen the Bees have a coach with experience of top-flight football in the Eredivisie.

The Dutchman must now integrate the new signings into a squad already containing plenty of talent, with many backing Brentford to kick on from where they left off last season to gain promotion into the top flight.

That will certainly be the target of owner Matthew Benham, and he will will take solace from the fact that his side have won five and lost none of their last seven opening-day matches on home soil.

There could be some further disruption to the West London outfit's squad between now and kickoff, however, with Moses Odubajo expected to join Stuart Dallas and Jonathan Douglas in leaving the club.

The latter of that trio joined opening-day opponents Ipswich, ironically enough, but it will be the potential loss of Andre Gray to Hull City which will offer the greatest cause for concern on the eve of the new campaign.

Pre-season friendly form: WWWLL

Ipswich Town

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Like Brentford, Ipswich secured a place in the top six last season only to miss out in a cruel fashion against near rivals Norwich City at the semi-final stage of the playoffs.

On the back of their best campaign in a decade, experienced boss Mick McCarthy is now tasked with leading the Tractor Boys out of the Championship after 14 years at this level.

McCarthy himself knows exactly what it takes to earn promotion, having achieved exactly that with both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sunderland in the past.

The inevitable loss of talented full-back Tyrone Mings during the off-season came as a blow to Ipswich's hopes of promotion, although with some of that money being invested back into the squad, and further signings still to come, another promotion push appears to be on the cards.

Daryl Murphy's 27 goals last season, coming from a division-high tally of 135 shots, played a vital part in Town's charge for the playoffs, but all eyes could be centred on David McGoldrick this time around.

The former Nottingham Forest striker has suffered his fair share of injury setbacks in the past, meaning that it could be down to Murphy and Freddie Sears to provide the goals once more, though if the Irishman can remain fit then Ipswich will boast a strikeforce arguably unrivalled anywhere else in the league.

Combine this with the experienced additions of Brett Pitman and Giles Coke, alongside young and hungry Arsenal youngster Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and you would fancy McCarthy's men to find themselves in the mix once more come May.

Victory at Griffin Park would be a good starting point, of course, and having found the net in each of their last 13 opening-day fixtures, it could be a case of Ipswich beginning the season as they mean to go on in front of goal.

Pre-season friendly form: WLWDLD

Team News

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Brentford defender Andreas Bjelland has been struggling with a groin injury during pre-season, but he should be fit for the curtain-raiser on Saturday afternoon.

Marcos Tebar will have to watch on from the sidelines, however, with Dijkhuizen revealing that the midfielder sustained a hamstring injury in training this week.

Sam Saunders, Lewis Macleod and Josh McEachran will also miss out for the home side, putting pressure on Alan Judge to continue from where he left off a few months ago when recording 13 assists for the campaign.

In terms of Ipswich, new recruit Douglas, who made 187 appearances in all competitions for the Bees, has declared himself ready to face his former side.

Jonathan Parr will sit out this weekend's clash, meanwhile, meaning a potential debut for Josh Emmanuel fresh on the back of signing a new contract with the club.

A red card picked up by Christophe Berra in the playoff defeat to Norwich will see him join the absentees list, so Luke Chambers will likely partner Tommy Smith in the centre of defence, with new signing Jonas Knudsen coming in at left-back.

Brentford possible starting lineup:
Button; Yennaris, Bjelland, Dean, Bidwell; Diagouraga, Kerschbaumer, Judge; Jota, Gray, Vibe

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski; Emmanuel, Chambers, Smith, Knudsen; Maitland-Niles, Skuse, Bishop, Fraser; Sears, Murphy

Head To Head

These two sides have faced off nine times in the past, stretching back to the very first meeting in November 1955.

Brentford came out on top on that occasion, claiming a 3-2 victory in front of their own fans, but it is Ipswich who have the better overall record.

The Tractor Boys have lost just that single game against their opponents, in fact, with four games finishing all square - including the 1-1 draw between the sides the last time they met in March.

We say: Brentford 1-2 Ipswich Town

Brentford appear to be draw specialists in recent times on the opening day, having shared the spoils in each of the last three seasons. Up against fellow playoff hopefuls, the match promises to be tight throughout, but the more settled visitors will get their season off to a winning start.

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