Our match preview and best bets for Brentford v West Brom
Our match preview and best bets for Brentford v West Brom

Free betting tips and match preview: Sky Bet Championship - Brentford v West Brom


A cracking fixture to kick off the Sky Bet Championship weekend as Brentford meet West Brom on Friday night. We look at the betting.


Recommended bets

2pts West Brom to have 13+ total shots at 7/4

For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record


Brentford v West Brom (1945 BST, Sky Sports Football)

West Brom returned to the top of the Sky Bet Championship table last weekend despite being held to a 0-0 draw at home by Birmingham. Leeds' loss to Cardiff on Sunday and the point they gained was enough for Slaven Bilic's side.

Crucially, Brentford's victory over Fulham ensured that the top-two finished the weekend in a better position than they started in. The gap to third virtually remained the same yet there is one less game to play.

With eight games to go, Brentford will target automatic promotion but they have to secure victory here to make that a possibility. Defeat would see West Brom move ten points clear of third, while a Fulham victory over Leeds would still need them to find seven points more from seven final fixtures.

The Bees are fancied by some to be the side that sneaks into the top-two at West Brom or Leeds' expense. The problem for Brentford has been consistency and that is something they will need if they are to secure promotion.

A 3-1 away victory over QPR was followed by a 1-0 home defeat to Huddersfield; a 2-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday happened a week after a 7-0 demolition of Luton. Eight goals in two games against Hull and Middlesbrough preceded a five-game winless run.

Emiliano Marcondes: Brentford attacker celebrates his goal at Fulham
Emiliano Marcondes: Brentford attacker celebrates his goal at Fulham

So while we can't dismiss Brentford's top-two chances, there will always be those reservations about how this side build upon good results. Of course, football is very different for the remainder of the season but that consistency must always be considered.

The pattern of away teams winning that we have seen in other major leagues carried over to the Championship on opening weekend with just two (Blackburn and Cardiff) of the twelve home teams wrapping up all three points. West Brom, who suffered as a consequence of that last week, will now be hoping it benefits them in this tough fixture.

The Baggies could consider themselves unlucky not to have beaten Birmingham last time out. Grady Diangana had a good effort near the hour mark while Kenneth Zohore failed to convert his last-minute opportunity. As the final scoreline showed, one of those chances would have been enough.

West Brom will be looking at this fixture as one in which they will aim to control possession and continue their attacking ways so it is worth a play on the 7/4 available with Sky Bet on the visitors having 13+ total shots on Friday night.

Bilic's side see an average of 14.6 shots per game in the Championship this season, only Leeds have more, while they have hit the 13 marker in multiple games against other teams in the promotion picture. Fixtures against Preston, Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, Millwall and Leeds have all seen at least 13.

Filip Krovinovic and Matheus Pereira celebrate for West Brom
Filip Krovinovic and Matheus Pereira celebrate for West Brom

That draw with Birmingham and the statistics that came from it highlight that the Baggies haven't lost their attacking intent over the break.

The high number of attacking options and combinations available to Bilic goes hand-in-hand with the way they want to play. To approach this game with a predominantly defensive style wouldn't be beneficial to the squad they have available.

Calling games like this are incredibly tough given the results we saw last weekend. Some teams reacted well to the break while others didn't. It's why we saw outsiders such as Charlton, Barnsley, Wigan and Cardiff all pick up points in their games. In close contests, there is a sensible argument to be made that the outsider is worth backing on value alone.

Here, the outsider is West Brom and the 2/1 price they bring. The Asian Handicap sitting at the slightest of margins in Brentford's favour also indicates that the money isn't certain on the result of this one.

Instead, it's worth playing to the statistics and backing West Brom to see a decent tally of total shots in this contest. Victory here, combined with a Leeds win on Saturday, would see them have one foot and some toes in the Premier League next season.

Score prediction: Brentford 1-2 West Brom (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)

Best bet: West Brom to have 13+ total shots at 7/4

Opta facts

  • Brentford are winless in seven league games against West Brom (D3 L4) since a 1-0 win back in February 1948.
  • West Bromwich Albion have won their last two away league visits to Brentford, though those games were separated by just over 27 years (October 1991 and March 2019).
  • Brentford have taken 26 points from their last 11 home Championship matches (W8 D2 L1).
  • West Brom have won four of their last seven away league matches in London (D2 L1), as many as in their previous 41 visits to the capital.
  • West Brom have kept eight away league sheets this season, last keeping nine in a season back in 2003-04 when they won promotion to the Premier League.

Odds correct at 1100 BST (25/06/20)

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