The teams that are currenly second and third in the Sky Bet Championship will go head to head on Saturday in a game that could have defined the season but will have much less riding on it. Brentford beat Rotherham United last night to extend their unbeaten run to ten games with Bryan Mbeumo scoring the only goal. They will look to extend that to 11 when Watford are the final regular season visitors to our new stadium on Saturday, 1 May, in a match that will kick-off at 3pm.
Brentford's win last night took them to 81 points and gave them breathing space in third place in the Championship table. AFC Bournemouth, Swansea City and Barnsley are following behind, all on 77 points with all four sides having two games to play. Reading are in seventh and cannot catch any of the teams above them so top six places are secured for the quartet.
A place in the Play-Offs is, however, as good as it will get for The Bees, or any of the four. Watford are seven points ahead of The Bees, so 11 ahead of the other three, and have secured promotion to the Premier League. They could still catch Norwich City, who lead the table, but are five points behind the Norfolk side, who have a home match against Reading on Saturday and can win the Championship title with a win.
Brentford are chasing a top three finish, the second season in a row they have done so in the second tier, and if they end the campaign with at least three points they will secure a Play-Off tie with a home leg second. The Bees have lost one in their last 13 games, which was away to Norwich, and will be looking to extend that run. The season will end with a trip to Bristol City next Saturday, 8 May.
The first game between the teams ended all square in December as Brentford came from a goal down with ten men. The Bees dominated the first half but were unable to get themselves in front as they hit the post and failed to take advantage of other good chances. Watford edged ahead as Troy Deeney converted a penalty but Brentford hit back and Ivan Toney converted a spot kick of his own to earn The Bees a draw.
That continued Watford's fine run in games between the teams. The Bees have not beaten Saturday's visitors in a competitive game since April 1977. Watford have won 11 of 17 games since then. They are also on a sensational run of form, having won 13 of their last 16 games to climb from fifth to second and secure promotion.
The match will, unfortunately, be behind closed doors. It will, however, be available live on iFollow Brentford. As per EFL communication on the broadcast arrangements for the new season, all of a team's games not selected for live coverage by Sky Sports will only be available on that platform. See more here.
Season Ticket Holders that agreed to freeze their seats for the current campaign in to 2021/22 now have iFollow VIP access. They can watch the game when they log in to their iFollow account. See more here.
If you are not in that category, you can watch The Bees against The Hornets on iFollow. It is the only place to see the action in full and will come with a Brentford-biased commentary from inside the stadium. Buy your Match Pass and watch the game as two of the top three go head to head.
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