Our Focus turns to the big West London derby (twice removed) as Fulham take on the Scrappy Doo of West London. With the two clubs side by side in the league table, many predict this could be a dress rehearsal of the playoff final come May. But for now, with a glimmer of hope that we can still catch WBA, this game is a must-win for more important reasons than just bragging rights. Quick, someone call pest control…
Head To Head
- Fulham Wins 21 | Draws 17 | Brentford Wins 21.
- This will be the 60th meeting between the clubs and the 30th played at Craven Cottage. Our home record vs Brentford reads: 9 Wins | 13 Draws | 7 defeats.
- Fulham have only won 1 of the last 9 meetings with the Bees.
- That win came in 2016 when we won 0-2 at Griffin Park. Also, the only time in the last 9 games that Brentford have failed to score.
- In fact, The Whites have only beaten Brentford once at the Cottage since 1954. A 1-0 win in 1990.
- Our last 6 victories over Brentford have all come at Griffin Park.
- You have to go back to 1989 and 25 matches previous to find a match against Brentford where Fulham scored more than 2 goals.
Brentford League Info 2019/20
- Position: 4th.
- Form: WDLDD.
- Scored: 64.
- Conceded: 33.
- Top Scorers: Ollie Watkins (22), Bryan Mbeumo (14), Saïd Benrahma (10).
- Form Table (Last 6 Matches): 14th (7pts).
- Average Possession: 55.8%
- Discipline: 42 Yellows | 1 Red.
- Clean sheets: 11
- Both teams have scored in 17 of their 37 games this season.
- Both teams have scored in 7 of their last 8 matches.
Players in Common
Image: Getty via LBHF.gov.uk
David Button
Fulham: 61 apps (2016-2018).
Brentford: 141 apps (2013-2016).
Simon Brown, Wayne Brown, Peter Buchanan, Terry Bullivant, David Button, Glenn Cockerill, Roger Cross, Danny Cullip, Tony Finnigan, Ryan Fredericks, Ron Greenwood, Jimmy Hill, Terry Hurlock, Richard Lee, Barry Lloyd, Archibald Macaulay, Alfie Mawson, Robert Milsom, Tony Parks, Gerry Peyton, Darren Pratley, John Salako, Barry Salvage, Tony Sealy, Marcello Trotta, Michael Turner, Paul Watson & Callum Willock.
Sam’s View – @SamCole2468
With the coronavirus rampaging around the world this might end up being our last match for a long time so it would be nice to end on a high. Following a frustrating draw with Bristol City, where we had our fair share of chances to win, we need to show our cutting edge in order to beat our big rivals. Tom Cairney could play a crucial role having been excellent in our past few games and grabbing the goal to level in our previous match.
With this being such a huge game considering both of our league positions and the huge rivalry we share with the Bees; I think it’s important we don’t make a lot of changes which could potentially unsettle the team. In fact, I would only make one change to the side that drew with Bristol and that would be swapping Arter out for Johansen. Despite playing well against Bristol I think that Johansen is a big game player and could bring the fight and desire our midfield needs. This change would be at the base of a 4-2-3-1 formation partnering Cairney at the base of midfield. Decordova-Reid would play in behind Mitro with Cavaleiro on the left and Kamara on the right.
Having been unbeaten in all of our previous Friday night matches I think we will continue that run against Brentford. I predict a 3-1 win with Mitro, Kamara and Johansen scoring.