Brentford boss Thomas Frank believes his side’s defensive unit will be given their sternest test of the season this weekend, as free-scoring Blackburn Rovers make the visit to the TW8.

Tony Mowbray’s side have scored a league-high 29 goals so far this campaign, with Championship top scorer Adam Armstrong notching 14 strikes in as many appearances. 

The Bees head into the weekend unbeaten in their last eight league matches, with four clean sheets in their last five, as the Red and Whites continue to have one of the stingiest backline’s in the division. 

Their recent run of form has seen them springboard into the play-off positions heading into the festive period, but Frank knows his team have to keep their foot on the gas if they are to keep pace with the leading pack, and that includes keeping Rovers quiet on Saturday.

“Keeping five clean sheets is massive and very difficult in this league, so the boys deserve a lot of praise,” the Dane said.

“But we next face Blackburn, who are maybe the best offensive team (in the division) at this moment in time. I think they are amazing, so I think that could be our toughest test defensively but we’ll be ready for it.

“We feel like an engine. We’re going at a good pace, we’re difficult to stop. But I still feel that we are only in gear four or five.

“But eight games unbeaten in this league is very difficult, getting five clean sheets and only conceding three is showing signs of a team that is in a good place.”

Brentford sit two points above Saturday’s opponents going into the weekend, with neither side having lost since back in October.

Armstrong is the only man to have found the net more than Bees striker Ivan Toney this campaign, with the former Peterborough man sitting on 13 for the season so far, with this weekend’s clash sure to be a shootout between the league’s two hottest marksmen.

Henrik Dalsgaard may be in line for a Bees return after missing Tuesday's win over Rotherham United with a hip injury, while Bradley Dack is close to a return after a year out with a knee injury for the visitors. 

Ben Brereton is set to miss the trip to London after going off against Millwall on Tuesday night with knee ligament damage, while Mowbray will have doubts over Barry Douglas and Bradley Johnson.

The match against Rovers will be the first to be played at the Brentford Community Stadium with a crowd, as around 2000 lucky supporters will be allowed to take their seat in the new surroundings. 

The Bees left Griffin Park - their home for 116 years - behind closed doors at the end of last season, before making the move down the road to their new state-of-the-art stadium over the summer.

But this Saturday, some three months after they first walked out at their new home against Wycombe Wanderers, they will do so in front of their home faithful for the first time.

And defender Ethan Pinnock is well aware of just how much the occasion will mean to his teammates as well as the supporters, with the Bees sure to be buzzing once again come Saturday afternoon.

“It’s been great at the new stadium but it’s been hard not having fans there,” the central defender said.

“And it must have been hard for people who have been associated with the club all their lives to then have to leave Griffin Park and move to the new ground but them not be there.

“It must have been devastating for them to leave Griffin Park like that. I just hope at some point they get to say a proper goodbye to the place. At least it’s not long now until they can come and see the new stadium.”