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.