EFL Championship 2019/20: Brentford vs Middlesbrough – tactical analysis

Going into Saturday’s EFL Championship clashes, Brentford sat in fifth position in the league, trailing second-placed Leeds United by five points. Their opposition at Griffin Park, Middlesbrough, looked to be in a much more precarious position sitting seven points above the relegation zone in 18^th.

The closely fought tie saw the home side emerge as 3-2 victors, leaving Thomas Frank’s side just two points shy of an automatic promotion spot. Meanwhile, Jonathan Woodgate’s Boro remained seven points above the drop zone and 18^th despite defeat.

This tactical analysis will break down the clash between the two sides, highlighting key tactics employed by the Bees and their opponents, then using analysis to show how they impacted the game’s outcome.

Lineups

Following the 5-1 victory over Hull City at the KCOM Stadium last time out, Frank made no structural or personnel changes to his starting lineup. As the Bees have done for nine of the previous ten games before Middlesbrough’s visit, the home side lined up in a 4-3-3, only having deterred from that for a 3-4-3 in the 1-0 victory over Stoke City in early January.

Woodgate, though, has shown himself to be much more structurally flexible over the previous ten games to Saturday’s. In those ten outings, six different starting formations had been used. A 3-4-2-1, 3-4-1-2, 5-3-2, 5-4-1, 3-5-2 and the formation used against Brentford, the 4-2-3-1. This was a switch from Boro’s last outing, where they used a 3-4-2-1 in the 1-1 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers. In terms of personnel, two changes were made. Djed Spence and Lukas Nmecha were dropped in favour of Harold Moukoudi and Hayden Coulson, presumably to facilitate the change in shape.