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Middlesbrough v Brentford - Match Preview

Middlesbrough v Brentford - Match Preview
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Middlesbrough have remained on course for a place in the top six and the play-offs as they extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to three matches after they shared the points away at Wigan Athletic with a 0-0 draw at the DW Stadium.

This point on the road followed back-to-back wins against Blackburn Rovers (1-0 away) and a 2-0 home win over QPR to keep Tony Pulis’s men on track, and having lost just once in their last 10 matches overall in the Championship, they’re a stubborn unit to shift especially at the Riverside Stadium.

Within this solid 10-match sequence, Boro have recorded wins against Ipswich Town, Birmingham City, West Brom (against one of Pulis’s former teams) as well as the aforementioned victories over Blackburn Rovers and QPR.

Indeed, the only team to have halted Boro’s progress during this impressive sequence  of results was 3rd placed Sheffield United with a 1-0 win at their Bramall Lane ground, but returning to the Riverside for this clash against Brentford should see the hosts well placed to take the spoils in this interesting encounter.

Onto Brentford then, and The Bees were buzzing once again last Saturday when they registered a convincing 3-0 win over London rivals, QPR, at their beloved Griffin Park which earned the hosts their fifth straight league win at home in the Championship.

Previous wins against Stoke City, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Hull City have confirmed Brentford as one of the hardest teams to beat on home turf in the second tier this season, but it’s not their home form which is under scrutiny ahead of this clash at the Riverside Stadium.

Whilst their home form is renowned, Brentford aren’t known so well for their exploits away from home as the London club have managed just one away win all season on their travels which was a recent 4-2 win at relegation haunted Rotherham United.

However, Thomas Frank’s side promptly lost their next two away matches on the trot as they succumbed to defeats at Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday respectively.

Such has been Brentford’s heavy reliance upon results at home, of Brentford’s total of 12 league wins this season to date, 11 of these have been recorded at Griffin Park.

This therefore looks another tough assignment for the visitors who will come up against the solid defensive unit of Middlesbrough who are a tough team to beat at the Riverside Stadium - this looks set to be a home win here.

Championship Regular Season
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Leicester City 97 46 31 4 11 48
2
Ipswich Town 96 46 28 12 6 35
3
Leeds United 90 46 27 9 10 38
4
Southampton 87 46 26 9 11 24
5
West Bromwich 75 46 21 12 13 23
6
Norwich City 73 46 21 10 15 15
7
Hull City 70 46 19 13 14 8
8
Middlesbrough 69 46 20 9 17 9
9
Coventry City 64 46 17 13 16 11
10
Preston North End 63 46 18 9 19 -11
11
Bristol City 62 46 17 11 18 2
12
Cardiff City 62 46 19 5 22 -17
13
Millwall 59 46 16 11 19 -10
14
Swansea City 57 46 15 12 19 -6
15
Watford 56 46 13 17 16 0
16
Sunderland 56 46 16 8 22 -2
17
Stoke City 56 46 15 11 20 -11
18
QPR 56 46 15 11 20 -11
19
Blackburn Rovers 53 46 14 11 21 -14
20
Sheffield Wednesday 53 46 15 8 23 -24
21
Plymouth Argyle 51 46 13 12 21 -11
22
Birmingham City 50 46 13 11 22 -15
23
Huddersfield 45 46 9 18 19 -29
24
Rotherham 27 46 5 12 29 -52

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