Brentford will look to kick off their Sky Bet Championship season in style as they host high flying Ipswich, with both teams facing a chaotic summer over the past few months. Griffin Park will be the scene where we'll be able to see how Ipswich cope without their former exciting defender Tyrone Mings, while the encounter at the historic stadium will see how the Bees' new look staff and players perform under the spotlight.
Last term and the summer
Last season saw Brentford cruelly miss out on promotion to the Premier League through the dreaded play-off's, with the season culminating in the departure of manager Mark Warburton, who was replaced with the cute acquisition of Dutchman Marinus Dijkhuizen by club owner Mathew Benham. The overhaul at the club included a host of backroom changes as well as on-the-field too. Most noticeably, the summer additions of Philipp Hofmann and Lasse Vibe grabbing the attention.
However the refreshing changes at the club have also included the incoming Bartek Sylwestrzak, who is a free-kick coach as well as Gianni Vio - who was brought in from AC Milan to help conduct the mechanics of set-pieces.
Ipswich on the other hand have had a summer of outgoings, following their bitter exist from the play-off's, much like Brentford. Tyrone Mings, tipped to be a future international star, swapped his blue Ipswich kit in the Championship for the red and black of Bournemouth - who will dip their feet into Premier League football for their first ever time this upcoming season. Although the youngster will be a big miss for Mick McCarthy's side in their pursuit of promotion, the sale of Mings did bring in some much needed capital, with the defender costing Bournemouth £8million pounds for the talented youngster.
Head-to-head
Despite the two sides finishing level on points last season, it was Ipswich who overcame the London club four-two in their last encounter at Griffin Park, whilst the two sides shared the spoils when Ipswich were the host last term.
Home record
Brentford only managed to pick up 42 points out of a possible 69 points at home last season, with the Griffin Park club looking to make their home turf a real fortress before they move elsewhere.
Away record
Ipswich managed a total of 31 points on their travels last term, which is a decent return for the Championship club.
Pre-season
Brentford had a number of impressive displays this pre-season, namely against Stoke City where they overcame Mark Hughes' side 2-0. Most recently the Londoners put in an impressive shift against Premier League newboys Norwich City, but were defeated 2-1 at Carrow Road.
Meanwhile Ipswich have been less than impressive this pre-season, with only two victories in their six outings, with those wins coming against weaker opponents such as Irish Division Two side, Shelbourne as well as a closely-fought victory against lowly Cambridge United.