Brentford gained a point in a 1-1 draw in their recent all-London affair away at relegation threatened Millwall, but this means that Brentford have managed to win just one of their last eight matches overall in the Championship.
Brentford’s one success during this ordinary eight-match sequence was a 2-0 home win over rock-bottom Ipswich Town, but the bubble has well and truly burst for The Bees after they’d promised so much from the Christmas period up until mid-March where Brentford picked up 8 wins from the 13 matches played during that time.
Since then though, Brentford have recorded just one further victory but the fact still remains that they pose a serious goal threat, particularly at their Griffin Park ground where they’ve scored a total of 45 goals to date - only top six teams West Brom (51), Norwich City (49) and Aston Villa (48) have scored more goals than Brentford at home in the Championship so far this season.
However, Brentford also have the capacity to concede goals on a regular basis too and 12 of their 21 home matches to date have seen both teams score. It’s just that with the likes of their goalscoring trio of forwards up front, Maupay (23 goals) along with Watkins and Benrahma (10 goals apiece), the hosts have usually outscored their opponents!
Onto Leeds United, and the visitors stumbled to a 2-1 defeat at Elland Road to lowly Wigan Athletic which was a major blow to their automatic promotion aspirations, and they’ve now dropped to 3rd place in the Championship as Yorkshire rivals, Sheffield United recorded a valuable 2-0 home win against Nottingham Forest and have edged Leeds into the second automatic promotion spot on goal difference.
The pressure is mounting up on both Sheffield United and Leeds United, and the latter have stumbled in recent times to Sheffield United, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic as the weight of expectation grows with each match.
Leeds have won only four of their last nine matches away from home in recent times which were victories gained at Rotherham United, Bristol City, Reading and Preston North End. Leeds have also lost at Nottingham Forest, Stoke City, QPR and Birmingham City, so perhaps the straight win here for the visitors may not be the best option, particularly given Brentford’s home record at Griffin Park.
They too have seen both teams score in 12 of their 21 away matches, and we can assume that they’ll be on the front foot at Brentford in this clash as they seek to get ahead of their rivals, Sheffield United once more on Easter Monday.
With both Brentford and Leeds United carrying serious goal threats but also the propensity for conceding goals, both teams should score here - but Leeds could grab the all-important three points in this clash.