Brentford make the trip to Pride Park to face Derby County on Saturday afternoon looking to further extend their six-match winning streak in the Championship.
Having failed to win either of their last two fixtures, the Rams head into the contest eager to get back on track as they bid to claim a place in the playoffs.
Match preview
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When Brentford found themselves behind at home to struggling Charlton Athletic in midweek, many would have felt that the Bees would struggle to respond after such a dominant spell of form.
However, despite conceding their first goal in six matches, Brentford capitalised on winning a 75th-minute penalty before Ethan Pinnock found a winner 10 minutes later.
Although West Bromwich Albion responded 24 hours later, it was important for Thomas Frank's side to show the kind of character which they may require in the playoffs.
While they will continue to fight for an automatic promotion spot, they are relying on either the Baggies or Leeds United losing two of their remaining games, while also maintaining their own six-match winning streak.
Despite being presented with a favourable schedule, that remains a tough ask in the circumstances, but the division's top goalscorers may relish the tag of underdogs heading into their last four games.
The same could be said of Derby, who have followed a five-match winning run with failing to get the better of either Nottingham Forest or West Brom.
Ahead of Cardiff's trip to Fulham on Friday night, it has left the Rams three points and a worse goal difference off sixth place, meaning that they can ill-afford another match without success at the weekend.
For all of their plaudits, Derby only have a sublime Wayne Rooney free kick and a scrappy last-gasp goal against Forest to show for their last seven halves of football, and it highlights that the East Midlands outfit may lack the firepower required to make the next step.
Nevertheless, recording maximum points against Brentford would make a statement, subsequently resulting in their rivals taking notice ahead of their closing three fixtures.
Derby County Championship form: WWWWDL
Brentford Championship form: WWWWWW
Team News
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Derby will be able to call upon Tom Lawrence after the midfielder completed a three-man ban for his red card against Reading.
However, while Louie Sibley won his appeal regarding his red card against West Brom, Martyn Waghorn serves the second of a three-match suspension.
Duane Holmes is also set to be absent through injury, potentially allowing Florian Jozefzoon to come back into the team against his former club.
Brentford boss Frank is expected to hand recalls to Henrik Dalsgaard and Emiliano Marcondes.
Mads Roerslev Rasmussen and Mathias Jensen are the players who will likely drop down to the substitutes' bench.
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Bogle, Evans, Clarke, Forsyth; Bird, Rooney; Sibley, Lawrence, Jozefzoon; Martin
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Martin; Dalsgaard, Jansson, Pinnock, Henry; Marcondes, Norgaard, Dasilva; Mbuemo, Watkins, Benrahma
We say: Derby County 1-2 Brentford
With a draw not suiting either side, expect two attack-minded performances in the East Midlands. However, with Derby missing key men, we are backing the visitors to come out on top in an entertaining battle.
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 50.93%. A win for Derby County had a probability of 25.06% and a draw had a probability of 24%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brentford win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.14%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.65%) and 0-2 (8.62%). The likeliest Derby County win was 1-0 (6.68%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.35%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 5.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Brentford would win this match.
