Match Preview
Fulham vrs Brentford
Championship Match Day 38 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 20th June 2020 KO: 12:30
Referee:
Tony Harrington (Cleveland)
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West London rivals Fulham and Brentford face off at Craven Cottage on Saturday lunchtime in a huge match at the top of the Championship.
Just one place separates the sides ahead of this derby showdown, but Fulham boast a four-point advantage on their near neighbours.
It is third-placed Fulham who are better placed to gatecrash the top two as we enter the final stretch of the Championship campaign.
The Cottagers battled to a 1-1 draw at Bristol City in their last game before the shutdown through a late Tom Cairney strike to make it four games without defeat.
Scott Parker's men have won four of their last five home league matches, including back-to-back victories over Swansea City and Preston North End since a shock 3-0 loss to Barnsley.
However, Fulham have won just one of their last 18 home games against Brentford in all competitions - a 1-0 victory back in April 1990.
Brentford were also victorious in the reverse fixture three months ago - Bryan Mbeumo scoring the only goal at Griffin Park - and are looking to complete a league double over Fulham for the first time since 2014-15.
Thomas Frank's side saw their automatic promotion hopes derailed when going five games without a win, a run that was ended in style in their last game before the shutdown with a 5-0 home triumph against Sheffield Wednesday.
Brentford can strengthen their promotion dream with victory at Craven Cottage on Saturday, they can also strike a possibly fatal blow to Fulham's own hopes of a top-two finish.
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Fulham have won just one of their past 18 home games against Brentford in all competitions (D10 L7), a 1-0 victory back in April 1990.
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Brentford are looking to complete a league double over Fulham for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
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Fulham have won more points at home this season than any other Championship team (38).
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Fulham have registered 506 sequences of 10+ passes in open play this season, 153 more than the next highest side which is Brentford (353).
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Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who is the Championship's leading scorer this season (23 goals), has won more points with his goals than any other player in the competition in 2019-20 (23 pts won).
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Fulham have kept 8 clean sheets in their last 20 home games
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Of the 12 league games Fulham has won at home, they scored first 11 times.
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Brentford have won just two of their past 10 away games in the Championship (D4 L4).
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The last time Brentford won away in the league was 4 games ago against Hull.
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Of the 8 away games Brentford has lost, they conceded first 7 times.
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The last time Brentford kept a clean sheet away in the league was in a 0-0 draw against Huddersfield in January this year.