Brentford v Fulham Tips: Surprise packages chase European spot in London derby

The Premier League’s biggest surprise packages this season, Brentford and Fulham, are still very much in the race for European football and both seek a valuable three points on Monday.

Brentford play hosts to the Cottagers, and the home side will seek to extend their impressive unbeaten run in the top-flight. However, Fulham are on a decent run of their own having gone seven games without defeat across all competitions. 

Marco Silva’s team is just two points behind fifth-placed Newcastle United going into this hotly anticipated fixture, while Thomas Frank and his Bees need to claw back seven points on the Toon if they’re going to sneak into the Europa League spots.

Home and away 

Brentford have been excellent at the Community Stadium this season, losing just two of their 12 games at home. One of those defeats came against league leaders Arsenal, which was largely expected.

Clean sheets have been harder to come by, though, as they recorded just five on home soil. Given that Fulham have only failed to score in three away matches this year, it is certainly worth checking out the ‘Yes’ selection in the ‘Both teams to score’ market (available at 1.81).

Fulham are consistently inconsistent away from home, and have racked up more losses than victories on their travels. Their games of late haven’t exactly been flush for goals - in fact, under 2.5 goals (1.97) has cashed in their last six encounters. 

Top scorers 

You will get no prizes for guessing who the favourites are to find the back of the net for each side in this West London derby. Of course, it’s Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic, both of whom leading the scoring charts for their respective clubs in 2022/23.

Toney (2.18) is certainly in the better form of the two, and I’m happy to tip him to net at that price. However, he is creating headlines for all the wrong reasons off the pitch and will need to prove that being recently charged by the FA won’t affect his performances. 

While Toney has been rampant, Mitrovic (2.62) is due a goal as he looks to get his name on the board for the first time in over two months. 

Missing in action

Joao Palhinha has been fantastic for the Cottagers this season, and he scored in the reverse fixture back in August when they picked up a 3-2 home win.

However, he won’t be able to get in on the action this time around as he begins a two-game ban following an accumulation of bookings. After his strike against Leeds United in the FA Cup once again proved his worth, Fulham fans will be hoping that somebody else can step up in his absence.

Layvin Kurzawa and Neeskens Kebano are also still out due to injury, while Brentford’s only ailment is second-choice goalkeeper, Thomas Strakosha. 

Brentford v Fulham Tips

Both teams to score @ 1.81
Ivan Toney anytime goalscorer @ 2.18