It is no secret that Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion have led the way in the Championship throughout the 2019/20 season. The top two have been miles clear of the chasing pack for much of the campaign, but the gap between second and third has gradually been shortening.
Not only have Leeds and West Brom stuttered of late, but the recent form of Brentford has transformed the battle for automatic promotion into a three-horse race.
It is worth mentioning that Brentford boast the joint-best defensive record in England’s second division. However, it is the team’s numbers at the other end of the pitch that have propelled the Bees into such a promising position.
In fact, ‘BMW’ – the attacking trio of Said Benrahma, Bryan Mbeumo, and Ollie Watkins – are the most productive front three in the top four tiers of English football this season.
Benrahma (11 goals, 9 assists), Mbeumo (15 goals, 7 assists), and Watkins (23 goals, 3 assists) have racked up a whopping 68 goal involvements between them in the Championship this term.
When you consider that Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, and Riyad Mahrez have a combined total of 62, while Liverpool’s acclaimed front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah have 61, the achievements of ‘BMW’ cannot be overstated.It goes without saying that Watkins is the leading goal-getter in the trio. The 24-year-old is level with Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic at the top of the Championship goalscoring charts and is enjoying the finest season of his career.
However, Benrahma and Mbeumo are both vitally important components of the deadly threesome. Only four players have recorded more Championship assists than Benrahma this term, while only Watkins and Mitrovic are above Mbeumo on the division’s goal involvement list.
Given that ‘BMW’ are so efficient, it is hardly surprising that Brentford have won more Championship games by three or more goals than any other team in the league this season. The Bees have scored over 2.5 goals on eight occasions – four more than Leeds, Reading, and Hull City.
With six full rounds of fixtures remaining this term, there is still time for Brentford to break into the top two and secure automatic promotion. But even if they do have to settle for a play-off spot, there is no denying that ‘BMW’ are one of the most lethal forward lines the Championship has ever seen.