Ivan Toney ready to return from injury as Brentford set their eyes on inconsistent Stoke

Having missed out on a place in Brentford’s last starting line-up due to injury, Ivan Toney should be fit to start as the Bees look to close the gap at the top of the Championship.

The 24-year-old suffered a minor ankle injury, meaning that he missed out on the Bees 2-0 defeat at Coventry last weekend. He was fit enough to play 25 minutes off the bench against Sheffield Wednesday in midweek, so is likely to be given the nod to start when Stoke visit the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

His 24 goals so far this season make him the top scorer in the second tier, having found the back of the net five times more than his nearest rival, Blackburn’s Adam Armstrong.

While Thomas Frank is keen to emphasise that Brentford’s success is a team effort, there’s no doubt that the forward has played a crucial part in leading the Bees into the automatic promotion places.

After all, that’s the aim for Frank, who will be keen to avoid the Play-Offs after his side’s late capitulation last season, culminating in defeat at Wembley against London rivals Fulham.

They remain seven points behind leaders Norwich, and while they’ll hope to be fully focused on their game this weekend, they may have one eye on Wednesday’s clash at Carrow Road.

Given the gap, the Bees should be looking behind them rather than ahead. Watford are only out of the top three on goal difference, while fourth-place Swansea remain just a point behind with two games in hand. Even at this stage of the season, it feels like it’ll be two of the current top four that earn automatic promotion to the top-flight.

Brentford’s next opponents, Stoke, will hope to keep their own promotion dreams alive as they look to keep within touching distance of the Play-Offs. The Potters are currently sat in tenth, just four points off sixth place Cardiff, but ultimately, their inconsistent form has hindered them from making a strong run at a top-six finish.

Michael O’Neill’s men have won just twice since Christmas, including a winless run that spanned nine games.

Defeats against Watford and Norwich may be expected given their form and the strength of their squads, but fans were far from happy when the Staffordshire side dropped points against the likes of Nottingham Forest, Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town.

Ultimately, this is what is holding Stoke back from being in the thick of the promotion race. There was optimism from fans after they won back-to-back games against Sheffield Wednesday and Luton, but a 2-0 loss away at Play-Off rivals Barnsley on Tuesday night sent them crashing back to earth in a devastating fashion.

It’s not a surprise to see the hosts as the heavy favourites to win the clash, but they too have had their own struggles for form.

Before Wednesday’s victory against the Owls, Brentford had lost three games on the bounce. Barnsley became the second side to win at the Bees’ new ground this season before Frank’s men succumbed to away defeats against rivals QPR and struggling Coventry.

With a mammoth clash away at the league leaders on the horizon, Brentford will be desperate to rebuild their patchy recent form. The return of Ivan Toney provides the perfect platform to do so, although he’ll be up against an organised defensive outfit that has kept three clean sheets in their last five games.

Complacency has killed the Bees on more than one occasion in the past. They found themselves 3-0 down after an hour when the two sides last met at the Bet365 Stadium back in October, eventually going on to lose 3-2.

A loss on Saturday could see Brentford drop down to fourth if results go against them, so if they want to distance themselves from the chasing pack, three points against the Potters are a must.

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