1/1Brentford (5-3-2): Mark Flekken; Keane Lewis-Potter; Kristoffer Ajer; Nathan Collins; Ethan Pinnock; Sergio Reguilón; Mikkel Damsgaard; Christian Nørgaard; Vitaly Janelt; Bryan Mbeumo; Ivan Toney;
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno; Timothy Castagne; Issa Diop; Calvin Bassey; Antonee Robinson; João Palhinha; Saša Lukić; Alex Iwobi; Andreas Pereira; Willian; Rodrigo Muniz;
In their final London derby of the season, Brentford and Fulham will go into contention for the three points from round 36 of the English Premier League. With very few games remaining, both teams are effectively playing out the season and would need help to climb much higher in the standings. In the autumn, the Bees came away with an emphatic 3-0 win over Craven Cottage, and today, it remains to be seen if they can go for the double over their rivals and a third successive victory over them.
A run of five games in a row without a loss and nine points earned has allowed Brentford to move away from the relegation zone and secure their place in the top division once again. In that period, The Bees were victorious against Sheffield United, Luton and Everton.
I believe that Fulham could have achieved more this season, but the team is too inconsistent and doesn’t always show its potential. In the last six games, the team has only won against West Ham. Last week, the Cottagers managed to take the lead in the local derby against West Ham at home but conceded an equaliser late in the game.
We can define today’s opponents as evenly matched, and with the squads at their disposal, the points they took should have been more. As for today’s game, I’m of the opinion that the hosts won’t back down, but with only five wins for them this season at home, I wouldn’t trust their success. On the other side, we have Fulham, who is the fourth-weakest away side in the league with just three away wins. The goals may be less than the bookies expect, but the stats and the lack of tension in both camps suggest expecting at least one for each team.