Preview:Brentford vs. Bristol City - prediction, team news, lineups

The Championship fixture between Brentford and Bristol City had been due to take place on Saturday afternoon.

However, the game in London has been postponed due to a number of Bristol City players displaying symptoms of coronavirus.

Match preview

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A lack of a cutting edge held Brentford back during the early stages of the season, a trend which concerned supporters who were still feeling the disappointment of missing out on promotion to the Premier League.

However, having avoided defeat in all competitions since the middle of October, it would now come as a surprise if Thomas Frank's side did not continue to go from strength to strength during the second half of the campaign.

A mixture of well-constructed team goals and brilliant individual strikes have led to Brentford netting eight times during wins over Reading, Cardiff City and Bournemouth, opponents who would have all fancied their chances of gaining something from those respective fixtures.

The victories have been made all the more satisfying due to Ivan Toney not being required to add to his 16 Championship goals for the season.

While Frank will want to see his star man return to form in the final third as soon as possible, he will be relieved to have seen other members of the squad take more responsibility in that area of the pitch.

Such was their contrasting starts to the season that Bristol City still only sit eight points adrift of the division's in-form side.

Nevertheless, Dean Holden will acknowledge that his side's drop-off in form will concern them, particularly with the Robins now four points behind the playoff spots.

After a nervy triumph over Wycombe Wanderers on Boxing Day, Bristol City succumbed to defeat at Luton Town three days later, leaving them with three points from a possible 15.

Although there will inevitably be movement in the transfer market over the coming weeks, this feels like a game where Holden's side need to show some improvement to safeguard his role in the dugout.

Brentford Championship form: DWDWWW Brentford form (all competitions): WDWWWW

Bristol City Championship form: WLLLWL

Team News

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Bristol City manager Holden must decide whether to revert back to his previous 3-5-2 formation after a switch to 4-4-2 did not prove beneficial against Luton.

Should he stick with the same strategy, Adrian Mariappa could return at right-back, with Famara Diedhiou taking the spot of either Chris Martin or Nahki Wells in attack.

With Tottenham Hotspur to come in the EFL Cup semi-finals on Tuesday night, Frank is expected to freshen up his Brentford XI.

Mads Bech Sorensen, Emiliano Marcondes and Tariqe Fosu-Henry could all be brought back into the starting lineup.

Brentford possible starting lineup: Raya; Dalsgaard, Jansson, Sorensen, Henry; Dasilva, Janelt, Marcondes; Mbuemo, Toney, Fosu-Henry

Bristol City possible starting lineup: Bentley; Mariappa, Vyner, Kalas, Rowe; Semenyo, Bakinson, Nagy, Massengo; Diedhiou, Wells

We say: Brentford 2-0 Bristol City

Despite the unrelenting schedule, we can find little reason to back against Brentford at this stage of the season. While the visitors may relish the chance to play with less pressure, the Bees should have more than enough in the tank to claim a comfortable win.

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