Two Championship title hopefuls go head-to-head at Griffin Park tonight and Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United need Patrick Bamford to step up at last.
Thomas Frank is confident that Brentford have the attacking edge on Leeds United ahead of tonight’s Championship clash at Griffin Park, telling the Sun (11 February, page 53) that his fearsome front line is ‘better’ than Marcelo Bielsa’s.
Bullish and rather brazen his comments may be, it is hard to argue with a man who has taken The Bees to the next level since replacing Dean Smith in the Brentford dugout.
The famed ‘BMW’ frontline of Said Benrahma, Bryan Mbeumo and Ollie Watkins have terrorised Championship defences all season long, netting a remarkable 40 goals and 12 assists between them.
In stark contrast, Leeds have only one player in double figures right now and even he, the much-maligned Patrick Bamford, has come in for some serious criticism during a run of five defeats in six in all competitions.
Frank’s confidence, therefore, is hardly misplaced.
“Leeds create a lot of chances, maybe the most in this division,” said the Danish tactician, who admits it would be a ‘massive blow’ if The Whites miss out on promotion again
“But our front three are on a good run and are better than the front three they have.
“It’s a very even game but it could produce a lot of turnovers and that’s where we are very dangerous.”
Brentford can move into the automatic promotion positions with a win against Leeds and their status as genuine title challengers is a testament to their unrivalled ability to unearth uncut gems in the transfer market.
A case in point; Benrahma, Mbeumo and Watkins cost a combined £8.7 million – only slightly more than Leeds paid for Bamford alone.
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