Brentford play host to Queens Park Rangers on Friday evening looking to extend their six-match unbeaten streak in the Championship.
Meanwhile, QPR make the short trip to face the Bees having won three of their last five games, a run which has moved the club clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
© Reuters
With the likes of Norwich City and Bournemouth threatening to move clear at the top of the table, Brentford are under pressure to turn draws into wins during the winter.
For long periods against Barnsley on Tuesday evening, it appeared that a fifth stalemate in six matches would be recorded, leaving the Bees as close to mid-table as the playoffs.
However, Ivan Toney's second-half winner has put a different spin on matters, providing Brentford with a 10-point haul from their last half-a-dozen outings.
By Championship standards, that is a solid return, but Thomas Frank knows that his players must find some form at their new stadium if they are to make progress up the standings.
Brentford have recorded just two victories from six matches at the ground, as well as being restricted to four goals from their last 360 minutes of action.
Unlike their hosts, QPR have found getting on the scoresheet a far easier task with nine strikes coming in their last five encounters.
Three of those were netted in a thriller with Rotherham United earlier this week as Mark Warburton's side made further progress up the standings.
Ilias Chair scored for the third time four matches during that fixture, while Bright Osayi-Samuel and Lyndon Dykes are continuing to enhance their stock at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.
However, improvements are required at the other end of the pitch with QPR having now conceded 11 times during their last six fixtures, a return which will only encourage their rivals ahead of this contest.
Brentford Championship form: DWDDDW
Queens Park Rangers Championship form: LWWLDW
Team News
© Reuters
Frank could hand a recall to Emiliano Marcondes after his half-time introduction helped change the flow of the game at Oakwell.
Given the three-day turnaround, Josh Dasilva may not have enough time to recover from the knock which he received on Tuesday evening.
The rest of the starting XI could remain the same after Tariqe Fosu-Henry made an impact in place of the likes of Sergi Canos and Saman Ghoddos.
Warburton has injury concerns in defence after Conor Matherson suffered a broken nose and Yoann Barbet picked up a knock against Rotherham.
However, Rob Dickie is expected to come back into contention after missing that game with an ankle problem.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Raya; Dalsgaard, Jansson, Pinnock, Henry; Jensen, Janelt, Marcondes; Mbuemo, Toney, Fosu-Henry
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Kakay, Dickie, Barbet, Hamalainen; Ball, Cameron; Osayi-Samuel, Chair, Willock; Dykes
We say: Brentford 2-1 Queens Park Rangers
Despite their contrasting trajectories in recent years, we expect a hard-fought battle between the London neighbours. However, while the visitors could provide a threat in attack, Brentford may take advantage at the other end, improving on their recent failings in front of goal.
Top betting tip
Darren Plant
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 56.74%. A draw had a probability of 23.9% and a win for Queens Park Rangers had a probability of 19.39%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brentford win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.88%) and 2-1 (9.66%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.31%), while for a Queens Park Rangers win it was 0-1 (6.63%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Brentford would win this match.
