Preview: Huddersfield Town vs. Brentford - prediction, team news, lineups

Brentford will be looking to stay in touch with the top two in the Championship table when they travel to an out-of-form Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon.

The Bees are currently third in the division, six points off second-placed Leeds United, while Huddersfield occupy 20th spot, just four points above the relegation zone in the second tier.

Match preview

Huddersfield will enter this weekend's clash with Brentford off the back of three straight defeats, two of which have come in the Championship at home to Stoke City and away to Barnsley.

Danny Cowley's side also lost 2-0 at Southampton in the FA Cup on January 4, although it is their form in the league that will concern the supporters the most ahead of a difficult run of matches.

The Terriers have only won one of their last four in the Championship, suffering three defeats in the process, while their next three are against playoff hopefuls in the shape of Brentford, Hull City and Fulham.

A total of 28 points has left them in 20th spot in the table, just four points above the relegation zone. Huddersfield have won two of their last three league matches in front of their own supporters, though, and will be eyeing three important points on Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately for Huddersfield, they are hosting a Brentford side who are considered by many to be playing the best football in the league at the moment. The Bees have won five of their last seven in the Championship and that run also includes a 1-1 draw against the leaders West Bromwich Albion.

Thomas Frank's side have scored seven times in their last two wins over Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers, meanwhile, and are now just six points behind second-placed Leeds in the table.

Only the side directly above them (15) have won more Championship games than the Bees (14) this term, while they thumped Bristol City 4-0 in their last away match on New Year's Day.

Brentford also progressed in the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Stoke City earlier this month and will take on Leicester City in what should be a fascinating fourth-round clash on January 25.

Huddersfield Championship form: DWLWLL Huddersfield form (all competitions): WLWLLL

Brentford Championship form: WDWLWW Brentford form (all competitions): DWLWWW

Team News

Emile Smith Rowe is in line to make his debut for Huddersfield having joined on loan from Arsenal, while fellow new arrivals Richard Stearman and Andy King will also hope to be involved in some capacity.

Tommy Elphick and Alex Pritchard are still on the sidelines, but Cowley otherwise has a fully-fit squad and will have plenty of options following the arrival of three new players.

As for Brentford, head coach Frank could name an unchanged side from the one that recorded a 3-1 victory over QPR last weekend.

Nikolaos Karelis, Josh Clarke and Sergi Canos are all still on the sidelines, but the Bees have no other concerns and there are not expected to be any real surprises in their side.

As a result, Ollie Watkins, Bryan Mbeumo and Said Benrahma should continue in the final third.

Huddersfield possible starting lineup: Grabara; Simpson, Schindler, Stankovic, Brown; Bacuna, O'Brien, Chalobah; Grant, Campbell, Smith-Rowe

Brentford possible starting lineup: Martin; Dalsgaard, Pinnock, Jansson, Henry; Norgaard, Dasilva; Watkins, Benrahma, Jensen; Mbuemo

We say: Huddersfield 1-2 Brentford

This is a really, really tough game for Huddersfield. Cowley will surely have a plan to stop Brentford's attacking threat, but we are finding it difficult to predict anything other than an away win.