Brentford v Huddersfield Town: A good time for festive fixture congestion and more things to look out for

Huddersfield Town sign off for Christmas with a tricky trip to the capital to face Brentford.

David Wagner will be targeting the first back-to-back wins of his time in Yorkshire and will be keen to ensure Town enter one of the year's busiest periods on a high.

Here are five things to look out for ahead of kick off at Griffin Park...

Alan McCormack's Huddersfield hex

If there is one Brentford player unlikely to receive many Christmas cards with a Huddersfield postmark it is Alan McCormack.

The Irishman, who typically plies his trade in defensive midfield or right back, has three goals against the Terriers - more than he has scored against any other club.

In fact, he has only scored three times since moving to the Bees in 2013, although he is yet to find the net against Town wearing a Brentford shirt.

But if McCormack enjoys playing against Huddersfield, Alan Judge relishes the challenge of any team in the Championship. With eight goals and seven assists to his name this term, he has either scored or set up exactly 50% of the London club's league strikes.

Stop McCormack and Judge, stop Brentford?

Good time for a festive fixture pile-up?

It's impossible to to talk about the new David Wagner style without talking about the word fitness. Manager and players continue to be asked about the new training regime, with Joel Lynch the latest to reveal the difference in approach - apparently it's affecting his sleeping regime!

The defender said: "Because of our training, I'm probably fitter now after my injury and just one game than I ever have been.

"If you’re fitter than every team you’re playing then you’re halfway there. If we can be fitter and sharper we should get results."

It's a particularly pertinent point as Town begin a run of four games in 15 days, and must also negotiate fixtures on both the 26th and 28th of this month as the football calendar accelerates a few pages during the Christmas "break".

Are Town now better placed to deal with the congestion than their Championship counterparts? If so, and they can use that to their advantage over the coming weeks, the table could be looking a lot healthier by the time attention turns to the FA Cup third round in January.

A striking choice

On a similar note, David Wagner has been talking a lot about rotation in the past seven days - a combination of niggling injuries and a midweek fixture bringing the issue to a head.

The boss is blessed with nearly a full squad at the moment, and with Philip Billing returning to training and Emyr Huws and Martin Crainie hoping to travel to Brentford with the team, Huddersfield are in danger of having a completely clean bill of health.

Up front, both Nahki Wells and Ishmael Miller are vying for a starting spot in the capital and Wagner has shown faith in both. He brought on Miller at half time against Rotherham as a tactical change, but has also spoken about the need to give Wells a rest - with the lone striker role a demanding area of his formation.

There will be plenty of minutes for everyone in the next four games, but with only one starting central role available, the onus is on whoever is picked to perform because if not, there will always be another option impatiently stamping their feet on the bench.

Clean sheets in short supply at Griffin Park

Both Town and Brentford have kept just four clean sheets all season , while the Bees have scored and conceded in five of their last six league games.

While the Terriers have kept out the opposition in two of Wagner's first five games in charge, Brentford possess a more potent attack than Rotherham and are likely to find more ways to test Jed Steer.

A stalemate doesn't look to be one of the more favourable options on the betting slips.

Will the Bs shine against the Bees?

A strange quirk of fate saw Ishmael Miller score his first goal of the season against the team that bears his surname.

Miller broke his 18 game barren streak of 2015/16 against the Millers with a neat finish on Tuesday night.

Does this mean it's time for the Bs to step forward against Brentford? Harry Bunn scored on this ground last year and was unlucky that his special strike against Bristol City last weekend didn't count for any points.

Or will youngster Flo Bojaj take a chance? Or indeed will Ben Chilwell net his first goal for the club, and first ever in senior football, at Griffin Park?