The most important statistic is, of course, the match result, but fans love detailed data during the game, and Brentford aims to meet these expectations in partnership with Genius Sport. Saturday's game against Sheffield will be the first time fans of The Bees will see a game enhanced with live, video-game-like stats.

Down in the table, leading the way in technology

This year's season is a difficult one for the West London team. With six games to go, Brentford are just four points above the relegation zone. The Bees’ players led by Thomas Frank's have the chance to dismiss the spectre of relegation in Saturday's match at Gtech Community Stadium against Sheffield United, which is last in the Premier League.

Fans may be tempted to attend the home fixture not just by the importance of the match itself, but also by the desire to experience a new element of the fan experience, Genius Sport's Dragon – a live stats platform. Brentford F.C is the first Premier League club to introduce such a solution at its stadium. Data is to be available after matches on social media too.

Genius Sport is known for its co-developed platform with Football DataCo, The Premier League Data Zone, which provides a similar but enhanced version of the statistics that Brentford fans will be able to see. It includes, among other things, pass accuracy or player activity. Dragon, obviously adapted to the realities of other sports, is also used in the NFL and NBA.

© AFL Architects

How does Dragon work?

Dragon is a technology that allows the most important match information to be tracked on the stadium screens in real time. To do this, it analyses 10,000 surface mesh data points per player 200 times per second. Among the data available live for fans will be:

• players' names
• a map showing the position of the players on the pitch
• speed of shots
• the path of the ball after the shot

Each time a shot is taken, the logo of arena sponsor Gtech will appear above the goal.

Steve Watts, the club's marketing services director, said: Whilst we rate highly for matchday experience, we are always looking at ways we can improve and add something a little different when attending a game at the Gtech. Watts is confident that this enhancement will certainly satisfy fans' appetite for data and statistics.

According to club assurances, fans will be able to enjoy this enhancement from Saturday's game until the end of the season. However, this is not the only attraction prepared by the club for Saturday. Indeed, fans have been invited to the Fan Zone, where they will be able to win autographed shirts in a lottery before the encounter with Sheffield, as well as test their skills in the ICON Fast Feet or speed cage game.

© AFL Architects