Before The Whistle: Brentford v Fulham

Written by Drew Heatley on 16th May 2025

So, here it is. Our one remaining mission this season: stop Brentford reaching Europe.

Is it petty? Yep. Is it a huge climbdown from fighting to get their ourselves? You betcha. Is it absolutely what football is all about? Indeed it is.

We don’t have the best time at Legoland; we’ve picked up just one point there since the Bees moved in. But that came last season, so you could argue our trajectory is up.

Playing Brentford at the Cottage gave us one of our best moments of this season. And, frankly, those moments are all we have after our late-season capitulation that sees us in the bottom half of the Premier League table, somewhere we’ve barely been all season and yet now find ourselves in a battle to get out of.

And that’s where this game becomes even more important. A win not only puts a significant dent in the Bees’ European aspirations, it puts us back in the top half of the table – and would see us break our record Premier League points tally. To do that and not finish in the top 10 would be confusing and upsetting.

The task is a tough one. Brentford are in the midst of a six-game unbeaten run, which includes four wins in their last four games. Thomas Frank has them cooking at just the right time.

Fulham revealed this week that Harry Wilson, Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez all had their contracts extended by a year – news that, while receiving mixed reaction online, is welcomed by this writer. Our squad depth simply isn’t good enough and these are bodies we want in the squad.

Jimenez and Wilson likely start against the Bees, with Marco Silva assessing Sasa Lukic and Antonee Robinson ahead of Sunday.

It’s not the season climax we wanted, but it’s one we cannot afford not to rise to. You Whites.

ℹ️ MATCH DETAILS

Kick-Off: Sunday, 3.00PM
Stadium: Brentford Community Stadium
Competition: Premier League
TV Channel (UK): None

🚦 LEAGUE FORM

Brentford: ⬜ ⬜ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Fulham: ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌

⚖️ MATCH PROBABILITY

Brentford: 48%
Draw: 23.9%
Fulham: 28.1%

🥊 MOST RECENT MATCHES

Nov 24: Fulham 2-1 Brentford
May 24: Brentford 0-0 Fulham
Aug 23: Fulham 0-3 Brentford
Mar 23: Brentford 3-2 Fulham

🎙 NEW PODCAST: Carefully Chosen C-words

After a dreary week for Fulham, we reflect on what may have been Fulham’s downfall, respond to a certain chairman’s comments and preview the West London derby