Fulham host Brentford in a Premier League battle between the West London rivals.
Victory could lift Fulham up to sixth if Everton lose at Liverpool and Crystal Palace fail to beat West Ham.
Brentford can leapfrog Fulham with a win and go eighth, although a victory of four goals or more could see them climb to sixth if Everton and Palace both suffer defeat.
Team News
Fulham have no fresh injury concerns to report following their 1-0 victory over Leeds last weekend.
Brentford will have defender, Kristoffer Ajer available after he was substituted as a precaution in their Carabao Cup victory over Aston Villa on penalties, due to a knee injury scare.
Paris Maghoma and Gustavo Nunes both remain absent with hamstring injuries.
When is Kick-Off?
Fulham host Brentford at Craven Cottage on Saturday 20 September at 8pm BST, live on Sky Sports Main Event in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Fulham have avoided defeat in three of their last five meetings against Brentford (W2, D1, L2).
- Brentford have won one of three previous Premier League visits to Fulham (W1, L2).
- Victory will see Fulham record three consecutive league wins over the Bees for the first time since December 1928 – October 1929.
- Joachim Andersen has played more successful long passes than any other Fulham player this season (28).
- Brentford’s three league goals at home this season have been scored by their wingers (Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade and Fabio Carvalho).
Prediction
Whilst the season hasn’t exactly lit up yet in terms of league performance for Fulham, they certainly have done a solid job of grinding out results as evidenced by their late winner against Leeds after absorbing much pressure before showing their experience and flair in the second half.
Brentford meanwhile have become a solidly organised team in terms of attacking play and whose long throws are a clear issue for many oppositional defences, although their defence is still questionable with just two clean sheets after they conceded a sloppy opener against Villa in midweek.
Nevertheless this is local pride at stake between two teams likely to again finish mid-table but after resting Jordan Henderson and Igor Thiago in midweek, I expect Brentford to snatch a point if they can avoid any defensive silliness that we saw in both meetings last season when on course for victory.
Prediction: Fulham 1-1 Brentford
Result: Fulham 3-1 Brentford
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