Key events
GOAL! Brentford 1-1 Fulham (Solomon 39′)
Pereira’s free kick is (another) beauty, crashing off the near post and looping back across goal – where Manor Solomon is first to react, nodding into an empty net!
38 mins: Now Fulham have a set-piece chance of their own, as Damsgaard is penalised for (inadvertently) catching Reed in the stomach with his studs. It’s right on the edge of the area, inside the D …
36 mins: Ooooof! It’s a superb hit by Toney, seeking out the far top corner from 25 yards and clattering the fabled angle of post and bar. So close!
34 mins: Demonstrated neatly here as Damsgaard dribbles forward and gets beyond Sasa Lukic, who hauls him down. A booking for the Fulham man, and another dangerous free kick for Brentford.
33 mins: Fulham are being patient and changing up their angles, with Willian and Pereira trying to get closer to Mitrovic. They’re still not really causing Brentford any discomfort though, and the hosts are a threat on the break …
30 mins: Two decent crossing opportunities for Fulham go to waste – first Pereira overhits his ball in, then Tete sends the ball sailing into Raya’s hands. Solomon is joining Mitrovic in the area, but they are still up against five Brentford players every time the ball comes in.
29 mins: The recent pattern continues – Fulham prod the ball around 30 yards from goal, and Brentford look to break from deep at every opportunity.
27 mins: Fresh from applauding Anthony Taylor’s decision-making, Ivan Toney ambles upfield and attempts to knock a long ball into Wissa’s path using, well, his posterior. He certainly is fun to watch, this lad.
25 mins: In fact, Fulham have had 73% possession in the last 10 minutes. Willian tries to make it count, cutting in from the right and going down with Toney behind him. Anthony Taylor pulls out the yellow card, and books the Brazilian for simulation. A bold decision, and probably a correct one, as replays show very little contact at all.
22 mins: Fulham are able to stroke the ball around inside the Brentford half, but haven’t had any luck breaking down the hosts’ low block. Robinson almost causes trouble with a jinking run, before Mitrovic is muscled off the ball.
20 mins: Reed goes down by the corner flag but the referee isn’t interested. Henry’s clearance then rebounds off Willian, and out for a goal kick. A fitting end to a frustrating first 20 for Fulham.
17 mins: Marco Silva is grumbling to the fourth official, unhappy with Brentford’s rough-and-ready approach and the awarding of that free kick. Anthony Taylor has a quick word, although nothing he says appears to improve Silva’s mood.
16 mins: After a delay while Jensen sees the physio, Bryan Mbeumo lines up the free kick – and hits the outside of the post! It’s a terrific effort, swerving and leaving Leno on his heels, but had just too much swazz on it.
14 mins: Jensen burrows forward and goes down, a little easily, to win a free kick 20 yards out. Replays show what looked an accidental collision with Reed’s shoulder. Fulham might feel aggrieved if Brentford score from here …
13 mins: Toney and Diop have been getting well acquainted off the ball, and the referee has a word with both players during a break in play.
12 mins: Brentford look happy to sit back, having blustered their way into an early lead. They can break with menace, too, as demonstrated when Damsgaard almost picks out Yoane Wissa with a clinical through ball.
10 mins: Richard Hirst’s hopes of a goalless draw may have been dashed, but there’s still plenty of time for Fulham to react. Mitrovic gets his head on the ball in the Brentford area, but he’s lacking numbers in support.
8 mins: There’s a delay before we can restart after jubilant home fans lob a couple of flares on to the pitch.
GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Fulham (Pinnock 6′)
Through sheer force of will, Brentford are in front! A corner is cleared as far as Aaron Hickey, whose cross falls to Ethan Pinnock. The centre-back turns and shoots, and the ball gets a big deflection off Tim Ream before squirming into the bottom corner. It could go down as an own goal, but it’s a goal either way.
4 mins: Another big chance for Mbeumo, and he does much better here, shaking off Robinson and firing low across goal. Leno is on hand again though, blocking with his foot. Brentford have started at a relentless pace …
3 mins: What a miss! Oh boy, how are Brentford not in front? From a long free-kick, Rico Henry charges clear down the left and cuts the ball across goal. Mbeumo is there, ready to sidefoot home – but he sends it wide!
2 mins: A first sight of goal for Ivan Toney after he picks up on a loose Pereira pass – and he nearly makes it count, Leno forced to get down low and turn his curling effort away at the far post!
It’s go time
Brentford are in their usual red and white shirts with black shorts. Fulham, in their minty fresh away duds, kick off. Anthony Taylor is the man in the middle.
“Whoever would have thought that at this stage in the season Fulham and Brentford would be battling for the West London Championship (eat your heart out John Terry),” says Richard Hirst.
“But I fear that without Palhinha to rule midfield (and score great goals) this will be a hard night for Fulham: if you offered me 0-0 now I’d bite your hand off.”
Both sets of players are warming up in #HerGameToo T-shirts, part of an initiative to mark International Women’s Day. Brentford’s matchday programme features interviews with director Monique Choudhuri and Fulham groundsperson Rachel Woods.
At half-time, fans will get the chance to hear from Fulham goalkeeper Edie Kelly as well as Amber Lloyd, a Brentford player and female football development manager for the club’s Community Sports Trust.
You can find out more about #HerGameToo and their campaign work in football, cricket and rugby over here.
Sky has a chat with both managers. Thomas Frank thinks that both teams’ lofty positions will add “fun – if that’s the right word”. He wants his team to play with confidence, earned during an unbeaten league run stretching back to before the World Cup, and put on “another show under the lights, at the Gtech.”
Marco Silva, the understated opposite of the effusive Brentford manager, has picked Manor Solomon for his first league start, and is happy with the competition for places in his squad. Silva expects a lively atmosphere tonight “like at our home game in August”. Fulham won that game 3-2, and very entertaining it was too (apologies for the partisan commentary on these highlights).
Thomas Frank makes one change from the team that picked up a late point against Crystal Palace in mid-February, with Mikkel Damsgaard replacing Josh Dasilva for just his second Premier League start.
For the visitors, Aleksandar Mitrovic is back after missing the last two league games – although he featured in the Cup win over Leeds. His Serbian compatriot, Sasa Lukic, steps into central midfield to cover João Palhinha, who is suspended.
The teams
Brentford (4-3-3): Raya; Hickey, Pinnock, Mee, Henry; Nørgaard (c), Jensen, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa.
Subs: Cox, Schade, Dasilva, Onyeka, Jansson, Ajer, Baptiste, Janelt, Roerslev.
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Diop, Ream (c), Robinson; Reed, Lukic; Willian, Pereira, Solomon; Mitrovic.
Subs: Rodak, Wickens, Cédric, Adarabioyo, Harris, Wilson, James, Decordova-Reid, Vinícius.
Preamble
In recent years, the battle for supremacy in west London has been monopolised by Chelsea. You have to travel deep into the Premier League’s baggy-shirted, Alive-and-Kicking past to find a season when the Blues weren’t kings of their manor. The 1994-95 season, to be precise, when QPR (and, at a stretch, Wimbledon) finished above them in the top-flight table.
For Fulham and Brentford, moments outside the shadow of Stamford Bridge have been few and far between. The Cottagers last finished above Chelsea in 1982-83, down in the second tier. For tonight’s hosts, the wait has been far longer – Brentford have not finished above the Blues since 1937-38, during a brief pre-war run as west London’s top team.
Despite being London’s oldest club, Fulham have never had that honour – but records are there to be broken. This is shaping up to be a historic season for both of these sides, sitting above Graham Potter’s drifting side and chasing European adventures, any faint fears of relegation long since banished. Fulham are seventh, four points above Brentford having played two games more.
A win for either side tonight would put them in the rear-view mirror of fourth-placed Tottenham, who are hardly blazing a trail towards the Champions League. In fact, finishing above Chelsea should be the least of their expectations. As west London derbies go, this is a big one. Kick-off is at 8pm, GMT; team news to follow.
