Brentford welcome Fulham to the Gtech Community Stadium in a blockbuster West London derby.
Victory would see Brentford stay ninth but move to within a point of their neighbours, whilst Fulham can go sixth with a win.
Team News
Pontus Jansson (pictured) and Frank Onyeka are both set to return for Brentford following their recoveries from hamstring injuries.
Goalkeeper, Thomas Strakosha remains absent with an ankle injury.
Fulham will be without Joao Palhinha who begins a two-match ban after he picked up his tenth yellow card of the season in their 1-1 draw against Wolves last weekend, although he did score in their FA Cup win over Leeds in midweek due to the suspension only applying to league matches.
Layvin Kurzawa (knee) is ruled out and joins Tom Cairney (ankle) plus Neeskens Kebano (Achilles) on the sidelines.
When is Kick-Off?
Brentford host Fulham at Gtech Community Stadium at 8pm GMT on Monday 6 March, live on Sky Sports in UK in Monday Night Football.
Stat Attack
- Brentford lost their only previous Premier League meeting against Fulham, in which they lost 3-2 at Craven Cottage in August.
- Fulham lost their only previous visit to Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium 3-0 in a Fourth Round tie in 2020-21 League Cup, back in October 2020.
- Thomas Frank’s Bees are unbeaten in six of their last eight meetings against Fulham in all competitions (W4, D2, L2).
- Brentford are unbeaten in their last eight league matches at home (W4, D4), during which they have kept four clean sheets.
- Fulham have claimed just four points away from home in London derbies this season (W1, D4, L3).
Prediction
Having had two weeks off and coming back straight into a local derby, Brentford should feel fired up but I would like to see better end product than they delivered against Crystal Palace, in which they were lucky to scrape a draw from behind after having sloppy marked Eberechi Eze’s header.
Fulham meanwhile have found their goalscoring groove again which certainly served them well in a clinical FA Cup win against Leeds, despite being outclassed in terms of performance but will come into this match full of confidence.
Thomas Frank’s Bees though has been bit of a bogey in recent seasons for Fulham so this game really should be close, although a strong start is vital for the hosts following their fortnight’s break and I do see them potentially getting the win as revenge for their defeat at Craven Cottage in August.
Prediction: Brentford 2-1 Fulham
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