A good side back to front
TOWN have to respond to a double-edged challenge when Brentford visit the John Smith’s Stadium.
Thomas Frank’s side are third in the table and, in addition to being the Championship’s second-top scorers with 44 goals, they have the best defensive numbers in the division, having conceded just 21.
It’s likely Richard Stearman – signed from Sheffield United – will make his Town debut in the clash and he will be up against the visitors’ BMW attack – Benrahma, Mbeumo and Watkins.
All three were on the target as Brentford beat QPR 3-1 in their London derby last time out and Watkins, the 24-year-old who started out at Exeter, is joint top scorer in Championship with 18 goals so far.
Benrahma has five goals in his past 14 appearances (two in the last two) and Frenchman Mbeumo, who is only 20, has bagged 11 goals for the season from 26 games – just one fewer than Town’s leading marksman Karlan Grant.
Town haven’t kept a clean sheet since their win at Charlton eight matches ago, so manager Danny Cowley will be hoping the influence of the 32-year-old Stearman can be significant.
Stearman has played only three times this season, most recently two weeks ago in the FA Cup as the Blades took on Fylde, but that was for only two minutes as a late substitute.
HARRY Toffolo has had to work hard to make his way in professional football so he is humble and connected to the fans.
Despite starting out at Norwich City, where he was an FA Youth Cup winner in 2013 under Neil Adams, he made only two senior appearances for the club, both in the League Cup.
Now 24, he went out on loan to Swindon, Rotherham, Peterborough, Scunthorpe and Doncaster before being signed by Millwall, but the move to The New Den did not work out for a player who gained England caps up to U20 level.
He left Norwich two years ago and, after being unable to break into the Millwall side, was snapped up by then-Lincoln boss Danny Cowley in January of 2018. Toffolo quickly
‘TOFF’ as he is known to Imps’ fans is a energetic and attack-minded
ONLY time will tell. The problem I find is you never quite know if a
HE’S loved. He is a player who ‘gets