After yet another enthralling Championship season, the lottery of the playoffs are almost upon us as four sides battle for a huge payout by winning the Wembley final later this month on Bank Holiday Monday.

The first semi-final on Friday night pits fourth against fifth as Middlesbrough travel South to the capital to face surprise package Brentford at Griffin Park.

Brentford

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The Bees ended a 21-year wait to return to the Championship by gaining automatic promotion last term and they had no problem adapting to life back in the second tier this season.

Mark Warburton's side won many plaudits for their fluid style of football, but it didn't look like they would finish in the top six going into the final day of the season.

The West London club sat seventh, two points behind the playoffs and needing sides above them to slip up. Brentford did their part by brushing aside already-relegated Wigan Athletic and their fans at Griffin Park would have informed the players of struggles for both Ipswich Town and Derby County that saw the Bees climb up to fifth.

Had it not gone Brentford's way, it would have been Warburton's last game in charge as he and the club are parting ways this summer, no matter what the outcome of the playoffs. He now has another chance to say goodbye to the supporters and he will hope it is with a win that gives them a good chance heading into the second leg at the Riverside a week later.

Brentford have never been in the Championship playoffs, but their record in League One's playoffs is not one supporters will have fond memories of. They have appeared seven times and never won them, despite getting to the final three times.

Recent form: DDLDWW

Middlesbrough

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One of the four sides in with a chance of gaining automatic promotion going into the final month of the season, Boro disappointed with a stuttering end to the campaign.

They collected just one point from their last two games against Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion to finish four points behind Watford in second place. Had they collected maximum points, they wouldn't have to go through the playoffs.

Their excellent campaign was built on a solid defence and the clean sheet kept against Brighton was their 21st of the season - two more than anyone else. In 46 league games this term, they let in just 37 goals at an average of 0.8 per game.

They also had the best home record of any side in the division, collecting 50 of their 85 points at the Riverside.

On their travels, Boro have struggled of late with just two wins in their last eight away games in the league. However, both of those were in big games against promotion rivals in Derby County and Norwich City, proving that they can handle the pressure on the road.

Boro have appeared in the Championship playoffs twice, beating Chelsea in the 1988 final and losing in the semi-finals to Notts County in 1991.

Recent form: LWWWLD

Team News

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Tottenham Hotspur loanee Alex Pritchard returned from injury in Brentford's last game and opened the scoring against Wigan for his third goal in four games. The England Under-21 international has impressed all season long for the Bees and will no doubt want to go out with a bang in his last home game for the club.

Warburton could name an unchanged XI from the win over Wigan, but Chris Long should be back in the squad after recovering from injury and extending his loan from Everton so that he can feature in the playoffs.

Karanka knew going into the final-day match with Brighton that the playoffs were on the horizon, so rested some of his key players for the Seagulls' visit.

The likes of Patrick Bamford, Ryan Fredericks and Jelle Vossen could return, while George Friend is available after serving a one-game ban against Brighton.

Grant Leadbitter will lead Boro out of the tunnel and he will hope to continue his good record against the Bees, having opened the scoring in both league matches against them this season.

Brentford possible starting lineup:
Button; Odubajo, Dean, Tarkowski, Bidwell; Pritchard, Douglas, Jota, Diagouraga; Judge, Gray

Boro possible starting lineup:
Konstantopoulos; Fredericks, Ayala, Gibson, Friend; Clayton, Leadbitter; Adomah, Vossen, Tomlin; Bamford

Referee: Jonathan Moss

Head To Head

Boro will start the tie as favourites and they will hope to continue their 100% record from games with the Bees this term. In September they cruised to a 4-0 win at home, before edging the January reverse in London 1-0.

Brentford failed to score against Boro's stubborn defence in both games and that made it six league games in a row without a goal against the Teesside outfit.

Boro's last defeat to Brentford in any competition was in the FA Cup in January 1964. They last lost a league match to them in December 1938.

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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:

We say: Brentford 2-2 Boro

Brentford might have a terrible record against Boro, but they enter the playoffs in much better form having finished with a pair of clean-sheet victories. With it definitely being Warburton's last game at Griffin Park, the support should be overwhelming and an entertaining game will hopefully ensue. If it did finish as a draw, Boro would leave fairly satisfied and hope that they can use their strong home form to advance to the final.

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