Brentford vs Cardiff City
Tuesday 13 March
Griffin Park, 7.45pm
Sky Bet Championship
The Opposition
He already has a record seven promotions to his name but Neil Warnock looks on his way to an eighth as Cardiff City stay on strongly in the final furlong of the Sky Bet Championship promotion race.
The Bluebirds are unbeaten since New Year's Day and go into tonight's game at Griffin Park on a run of six straight league wins. That form has seen them close the gap on long-time Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers to just three points as well as open up a four-point cushion to the teams below them.
Warnock's Bluebirds have the meanest defence in the second-tier and Saturday's 3-2 win over Birmingham City saw them concede more than once in the league for the first time in ten games. At the other end of the pitch the goals have been shared around with Kenneth Zohore, Callum Paterson, Junior Hoilett, and Joe Ralls regular contributors.
Team News
What has made Cardiff's run more impressive is that it has been done with almost an entire team out injured. Jazz Richards, Lee Peltier, Armand Traore, Aron Gunnarsson, Joe Ralls, and Danny Ward are all definitely out tonight and Warnock has doubts over Matthew Connolly and Jamie Ward. Callum Paterson, Gary Madine, and Sean Morrison were fit enough to return against Birmingham City on Saturday, boosting City's numbers ahead of tonight's game.
For Brentford, Andreas Bjelland's calf-strain means he will join Rico Henry on the absentee-list this evening. Florian Jozefzoon faces a race to be fit in time after lacerating his foot at Burton Albion last Tuesday night but other than that it's a full squad to choose from.
The Manager
Neil Warnock has had 17 managerial roles in a coaching career that has spanned more than three decades so far. His big break came in 1999, taking over at boyhood club Sheffield United and leading them to promotion, as well as Semi-Finals of the FA Cup and League Cup.
Spells with Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers followed, before he joined Leeds United in 2012. He returned to both Rangers and Palace after leaving The Whites in 2013. He final job before his current role at Cardiff was with Rotherham United. A team struggling at the bottom of the Championship, he rescued them and was offered the chance to stay into the next season. He was appointed as Cardiff boss in October 2016.
Pre-Match Briefing
Dean Smith: 'We go into each game feeling that we are competitive and playing well'
John Egan: "If we bring our A game then there aren't many teams who can live with us"
Opposition View: Dominic Booth of Wales Online
Familiar Faces: Take a look at the common connections between us and The Bluebirds
Moment in Time: Club records tumble as The Bees and Cardiff meet at Griffin Park
We Meet Again: Scott Hogan's late brace secures the points for The Bees in April 2016
Ticket News
Tickets for Tuesday's game against Cardiff City are on sale to Previous Purchasers now. With The Bees looking to close the gap to the Play-Offs, get behind Dean and the boys by getting your match tickets here.
Betting Preview
Principal partners LeoVegas have a range of markets on tonight's game. Check out their match markets here.
Match Coverage
iFollow Brentford will be live from 7.15pm with Mark Burridge hosting Matchday Live with guests Marcus Gayle and Marcus Bean. Please note, as the game is being shown live on Sky Sports, overseas supporters will not be able to watch the match through iFollow. Full audio commentary will still be available.
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