Brentford face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday in their second game of the Premier League season (3pm kick-off).

The Bees’ drew 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day, while Fulham beat Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park.

Pre-match Analysis

Alex Lawes, Playmaker Stats: It’s what you do with the ball that counts

After two entertaining clashes in the top flight last season and another high-scoring affair in the Premier League Summer Series, we could be set for another derby day thriller at Craven Cottage this weekend.

The aforementioned last three meetings between these two sides, since Brentford lost against the Cottagers in the 2019/20 Championship play-off final, have produced 15 goals with all three matches finishing 3-2; Fulham winning two, including the game at the Cottage last season almost exactly a year to the day from this upcoming encounter.

In that game last year there were a combined total of 31 shots with 14 on target during a chaotic encounter. It is interesting to note, though, that Brentford seemed less flustered by the chaos with their pass accuracy in that match being 75 per cent, 0.2 per cent above their average pass accuracy for last season. Fulham’s, meanwhile, was 70 per cent; a 10 per cent drop below their season average.

In the reverse fixture, it was again the home team who appeared to lose their composure as Brentford's passing accuracy dipped to 66 per cent, while Fulham’s rose to 82 per cent. Counter-intuitively, the teams that struggled to keep the ball managed to win 3-2 in games that would probably be viewed as statistical ‘outliers’ rather than indicative of anything else.

In their one respective game this season, both teams picked up where they left off from their pass completion rates last year with Brentford managing to complete 76.8 per cent of their passes against Tottenham and Fulham completing 84.5 per cent of theirs in a 1-0 win at Everton.

The style of football employed by the two west London sides is clearly different with Fulham favouring a more deliberate, possession-based approach and Brentford more willing to play direct to exploit opponents’ weaknesses. That contrast leads to thrilling matches between the two sides.

A stat from gameweek one that perhaps paints the clearest picture of the two side's differing philosophies is that of possession share.

Despite playing at home, Brentford recorded just 30.4 per cent possession last weekend against Spurs, while Fulham went to Goodison Park and bossed 59.4 per cent of the ball.

However, last weekend it was Brentford who had more shots at goal with 11 efforts compared to the Cottagers’ nine and in terms of expected goals, Fulham’s win at Everton was the biggest surprise in terms of the underlying data, as Marco Silva's side conceded 2.53 xG and managed just 1.41 themselves.

There are good reasons for both teams to fancy their chances ahead of the contest and it promises to be a fascinating west London derby.

The Opposition

Mitrovic involved on the opening day as Fulham continue to fend off transfer interest

Over the last five years, Fulham have learned the hard way that playing in the Premier League is a privilege that has to be earned.

In 2018/19, they returned to the top flight after four seasons away, ploughed tens of millions into a somewhat scattergun approach in the transfer market, and finished second bottom, 10 points from safety, after collecting just seven league wins all season. Not to mention the fact they went through three managers.

Two years later, the Cottagers were back. There was a more careful approach to strengthening the squad to handle the step back up, yet this campaign was arguably worse, not least because Covid restrictions meant that 35 of their 38 league games were played behind closed doors. They won just five games and finished 18th, 11 points behind Burnley.

The term yo-yo club is usually associated with the likes of Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion, but Fulham were rapidly advancing towards that territory.

Marco Silva replaced Scott Parker in the summer of 2021 and helped the squad realise its potential in ways his predecessor could not. He guided them to the Championship title in style, with Aleksandar Mitrovic scoring a record-breaking 43 league goals along the way.

When it came to recruitment last summer, by and large, Silva and his staff got it just right. Fulham added Premier League experience in the form of Andreas Pereira, Bernd Leno, Issa Diop and Willian; Manor Solomon impressed during a loan spell from Shakhtar Donetsk, and the signing of Joao Palhinha for a reported £20 million from Sporting looks to be a stroke of genius.

Fulham’s 10th-place finish was the best since they finished ninth in 2011/12 and their fourth best in their 16 seasons in the division to date. It was no doubt helped by the fact Mitrovic proved his doubters wrong by scoring 14 goals in 24 league appearances – an average of 0.58 goals per game and his best in five top-flight campaigns.

This summer, the club’s preparation for the new season was somewhat disrupted by an unwelcome approach for the talismanic Serb.

Only those who have been living under a rock will not be aware of the way Saudi Pro League clubs have been flexing their financial muscle this summer, and Al Hilal – who have already signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea, Ruben Neves from Wolves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio and, mostly recently, Neymar from PSG - have seen several offers for the 28-year-old knocked back.

With one bid in the region of £30m - despite a club valuation £22m higher - it is easy to see why. There was talk of Mitrovic telling relatives he would never play for the club again and that he would stay away from the Premier League Summer Series, but he travelled to the USA and featured in Fulham’s opening game of the season last weekend. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but the latest in the saga at the time of writing is that Al Hilal have reportedly once again returned, this time with a bid of £46m.

The Cottagers have Carlos Vinicius among their attacking ranks, but they have also signed Raul Jimenez from Wolves this summer and the Mexican will no doubt be raring to step up to the plate and fill the void left by Mitrovic on a full-time basis. Jimenez no doubt has a point to prove; he fractured his skull in November 2020 and managed just six Premier League goals in the 49 games that followed, having hit 34 in 86 prior to the injury.

Putting the Mitrovic saga to one side, Fulham currently look to be in overall decent shape, as The Athletic’s Peter Rutzler tells us. Their key players are still at the club, for the time being, at least, as is Silva, who turned down a big money approach of his own to coach in Saudi Arabia in favour of remaining in west London. “My commitment for the club is clear and it will continue,” he said late last month.

For the first time since August 2016, they have started the season with a win, too. They did not set the world alight with a 1-0 victory at Everton, who have been tipped by some to finally succumb to relegation after two years of dangerous flirtation. But a win is a win, three points are three points and you can’t ask for more than that.

In the Dugout

Marco Silva

Despite having only turned 46 last month, Marco Silva already has 12 years of managerial experience under his belt, having taken charge of more than 400 matches across three countries.

After a career as a right-back in his native Portugal, he was appointed director of football at Estoril in 2011, but quickly thrust into his first role as leading man when the club endured an unfavourable start to the campaign. He managed to turn the club’s fortunes around, winning the Liga de Honra and cementing a return to the Primeira Liga after a seven-year exile.

In 2014, Silva signed a four-year deal at Sporting and went on to win the Taca de Portugal, but he lasted just days over a year in charge. Shortly after the cup win, the club produced a 400-page document where they detailed the reasoning for his dismissal, with one section claiming his failure to wear a club suit during a match partly justified the decision.

A title-winning season at Olympiacos came next, before he took on a fire-fighting job at relegation-threatened Hull. Silva galvanised a Tigers team that included Harry Maguire and Andy Robertson, but ultimately could not prevent the club dropping back into the Championship and he resigned in May 2017.

That preceded time at Watford and Everton, before he joined Fulham just over two years ago.

Silva has taken charge of 95 games - of which he has won 48, drawn 18 and lost 29 - during his time at Craven Cottage and guided the club to the Championship title two seasons ago.

His competitive west London derbies have seen Brentford and Fulham each come away with a 3-2 win, while last month’s Premier League Summer Series friendly also ended with the same scoreline, this time in the Cottagers’ favour.

The Gameplan

With Peter Rutzler, Fulham reporter for The Athletic

The Athletic’s Peter Rutzler explains how Fulham will set up on Saturday.

"It will be a 4-3-3 with Antonee Robinson and Tete as full-backs; in the midfield three, there will be a no.6 - which is normally Palhinha, but he is a bit of a doubt - and then two central midfielders in front of him, one being more like a no.10 pushing on higher. That was Tom Cairney last weekend, but Andreas Pereira has made that position his own.

“Then there will be two wide players. Fulham like to build up in those wide positions, creating space and getting crosses in for the frontman. That was Willian and Harry Wilson last weekend and will probably be the same coming into this week.

“Then there will be one target man up front, drawing players around him, making space for others and the team revolving around them.”

Team news

Jensen to start against Fulham

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has confirmed that Mathias Jensen will start for the Bees in their west London clash against Fulham on Saturday.

The midfielder came off in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Gtech Community Stadium last Sunday with a quad injury.

But Jensen will be available for the derby game against the Cottagers this weekend, with Frank adding that he will start for his side.

"He's ready - that's very positive. He's going to start tomorrow," said Frank.

The Bees boss also revealed that Jensen's midfield colleague Frank Onyeka is "ready and available for the game" on Saturday.

Defender Ben Mee will undergo checks on Saturday morning on the calf injury he suffered in the Bees' pre-season friendly against Lille.

Match Officials

Bond the man in the middle at Craven Cottage

Darren Bond will be in charge of Saturday's west London derby.

Bond refereed 37 games last season, showing 155 yellow cards and four yellows.

The Lancashire official was handed two Brentford assignments during the 2022/23 campaign: the 3-0 victory over Southampton in February, and the 1-1 draw with Leicester City in March.

Last League Meeting

Brentford 3 Fulham 2 (6 March 2023)

Brentford edged a pulsating west London derby against Fulham to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 12 games.

Ethan Pinnock and Manor Solomon traded goals at either end of the first half as the rivals went in level.

Ivan Toney restored the Bees’ advantage from the penalty spot early in the second half with Mathias Jensen making the game safe seven minutes from time.

Carlos Vinicius netted a late consolation for Marco Silva’s side but there would be no denying Brentford all three points.