Match Preview
Brentford vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 36 2324 at Gtech Community Stadium,
Saturday 4th May 2024 KO: 15:00
Referee:
Graham Scott (Oxfordshire)
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Fulham and Brentford will be playing solely for West London derby bragging rights in Saturday afternoon's Premier League contest at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The Cottagers have been guaranteed a seat at the top table for 2024-25 while The Bees are also safe despite losing 1-0 at Everton last weekend
Safe in the knowledge that their big-time status for 2024-25 has been rubber-stamped, Fulham were mere moments away from edging out London rivals Crystal Palace last Saturday, where Rodrigo Muniz headed in his ninth goal of the term to break the deadlock early in the second half.
The Eagles would seemingly be made to pay for wasting several openings at Craven Cottage, but with just three minutes of normal time remaining, Jeffrey Schlupp picked up the ball some 25 yards from goal and unleashed a ferocious thunderbolt which left Bernd Leno stranded to the spot.
Marco Silva could only heap praise on Schlupp's "amazing" equaliser, but he lamented his side's inability to stop the attack in its tracks as they remain 13th in the Premier League standings, just one point below Brighton & Hove Albion having played one game more than the Seagulls.
Despite throwing away two points right at the death, the Cottagers can now proudly boast a three-game unbeaten streak in Premier League London derbies and have lost just one of their last six against counterparts from the capital, where they achieved their most recent away win with April's 2-0 beating of West Ham United.
Silva's men are now out to make the net bulge for the seventh Premier League away game in a row, but they were crushed 3-0 at home to Brentford back in August and also went down 3-2 to the Bees at the Gtech Community Stadium back in March, where Mathias Jensen's late strike proved telling.
Even before the first ball was kicked at Goodison Park last Saturday evening, results elsewhere going in Brentford's favour meant that Thomas Frank's side had already been assured of a fourth straight Premier League campaign, significantly easing the pressure on their red and white shoulders.
The Bees appropriately put in a performance of a side with not much left to fight for, as amid their futile efforts to breach the Everton backline and an on-song Jordan Pickford, they were condemned to an 18th top-flight loss of the season thanks to an Idrissa Gueye strike.
The midfielder's effort also confirmed Everton's survival in the top flight and snapped Brentford's two-game winning sequence and five-match unbeaten run in the Premier League, a streak where back-to-back successes over Sheffield United and Luton Town went a long way to keeping the Bees afloat.
Frank's men should not finish lower than 16th and could rise a few places up the rankings with a perfect end to a troubled campaign, although a daunting trip to Bournemouth and final-day meeting with Newcastle United still awaits one of this season's under-achieving teams.
However, Saturday's hosts enter the weekend on a four-match unbeaten run at the Gtech Community Stadium, taking points off of Chelsea and Manchester United in that sequence, and their West London counterparts need not throw caution to the wind for three points this weekend either.
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Brentford have won five of their past seven matches against Fulham in all competitions. They have won their past two in the Premier League against their London rivals.
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Fulham have lost six of their past seven away games against Brentford in all competitions. They won the other game 2-0 in November 2016 under Slavisa Jokanovic.
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Fulham have earned a club record 15 points in Premier League London derby matches this season (W4, D3, L4).
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The Cottagers have taken seven points from their last five away league games, as many as in their first 12 this season.
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They are looking to win back-to-back away league matches for the first time in 16 months.
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Rodrigo Muniz, who turns 23 on Saturday, has scored nine Premier League goals this season and could become only the fourth player to reach 10 in his debut campaign for Fulham, emulating Andy Cole (12 in 2004-05), Dimitar Berbatov (15 in 2012-13), and Aleksandar Mitrovic (11 in 2018-19).
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Joao Palhinha has 13 Premier League yellow cards this season, one shy of the record he shares with eight other players. No-one has been booked 14 times in multiple seasons.
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Brentford have only earned one point from their last six Premier League London derbies, directly following a 14-game unbeaten run (W8, D6).
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The Bees are vying to win back-to-back home league games for only the second time this season, having beaten Burnley and West Ham in October and November.
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They have conceded 19 headed goals in the top flight this season, more than than any other side. It accounts for a league-high 32% of their overall goals conceded.
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Having netted four goals in his first five Premier League games after returning from suspension, Brentford's Ivan Toney has not scored in any of his past nine. It is his longest run without a league goal since a run of 10 with Peterborough United between February and April 2019.
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Source Ben Knapton at SportsMole/BBCSports