MATCH RESCHEDULED: Fulham vs. Brentford ‘New’ kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
MATCH RESCHEDULED: Fulham vs. Brentford ‘New’ kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
Drawing the curtain on Premier League gameweek 10 with a mouthwatering West London derby, Fulham and Brentford scrap it out at Craven Cottage on Monday night.
Only one point and one place separates the two near neighbours in the mid-table pack after nine matches of the 2024-25 campaign, while they are also the only two sides in the division with a goal difference of zero at this fledgling stage.
Following a fair few last-minute surprises in the 3pm kickoffs last Saturday, Fulham sought to avoid suffering the same fate as the likes of Aston Villa, Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion when Marco Silva returned to his old stomping ground.
The erstwhile Everton head coach would seemingly have the last laugh against the Toffees thanks to a fine finish from another former Goodison Park flame in Alex Iwobi, but with no fewer than 94 minutes in the top left-hand corner, Beto made himself a Merseyside hero.
The only miniscule positive that Fulham can take from last weekend’s 1-1 heartache, that point was the first that the Cottagers had achieved in three Premier League games; they had previously succumbed to Aston Villa and Manchester City’s superiority in October.
Lying 12th in the standings after Saturday’s fixtures, a return to home comforts may or may not be welcomed by the Craven Cottage faithful, whose side have scored in all four top-flight home games this season but have also gone without a Premier League clean sheet on familiar turf since March.
Clashes with fellow capital sides have been something of a speciality for Fulham in recent times, though, as they are unbeaten in each of their last five Premier League London derbies and have only lost one of their last eight top-flight games against close rivals from the city.
Momentarily linked with the vacant Manchester United role in between Erik ten Hag’s sacking and Ruben Amorim’s appointment, much-adored Brentford boss Thomas Frank was quick to reiterate his commitment to the Bees, who continue to show a commitment to entertainment at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Indeed, Brentford and Ipswich submitted their application for the 2024-25 Premier League Game of the Season last weekend, where the Bees trailed 2-0, led 3-2 and had ostensibly let two points slip from their grasp in the 86th minute when Liam Delap made it a six-goal spectacular.
However, the travelling Tractor Boys did not bank on Bryan Mbeumo’s injury-time cross evading all bodies in a crowded penalty area, as well as goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, to seal an astonishing 4-3 triumph for the men in red and white, whose two top-flight home games in October produced an incredible 15 goals.
Frank’s 11th-placed troops were only able to scrape past Sheffield Wednesday on penalties in the last 16 of the EFL Cup, though, and they have lost all four Premier League away games in 2024-25, but no team has had a more difficult start on the road.
Brentford have already had to travel to Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in 2024-25 and should welcome a jaunt to Craven Cottage, where they crushed Fulham 3-0 in the 2023-24 campaign before a low-key goalless draw at the Gtech in May.
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