Brentford Vs Fulham: Championship playoff final preview

The 2019/20 Championship season is finally coming to an end, with the playoff final between London rivals Brentford and Fulham going down at Wembley Stadium tomorrow.

The two sides, who finished 3rd and 4th in the table respectively, got past both of the Welsh clubs to reach the final, with both scorelines being 3-2 on aggregate – Brentford came back to beat Swansea and Fulham got the job done against Cardiff.

The Road To The Final

Despite a slow start, Brentford ended up just two points off the automatic promotion spots in 3rd. The Bees lost their last two games of the season against Stoke and Barnsley; just one win would have been enough to climb into the top two, with West Bromwich Albion dropping points to Huddersfield and QPR.

Thomas Frank’s side fell behind in the playoff semi-final first leg against Swansea City, with Andre Ayew’s late strike giving Steve Cooper and his side the advantage.

At what was Griffin Park’s last ever game, Brentford came back to win 3-1 in the second leg, with Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Marcondes and Bryan Mbeumo getting on the scoresheet.

Meanwhile, Fulham finished 4th in the Championship behind their rivals on goal difference. They took a 2-0 lead in the semi-final first leg against Cardiff, with a quality individual goal from Josh Onomah and a superb free-kick from Neeskens Kebano being the difference at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Despite losing the second leg 2-1 at Craven Cottage, another goal from Kebano was enough to see Scott Parker’s side to Wembley.

Stats

This will be Brentford’s fourth playoff final and their first since 2013 – a 2-1 defeat to Yeovil Town League One. The Bees have lost all of their playoff finals and should they lose tomorrow, they will become the most unsuccessful team to take part in a playoff campaign, currently being level with Sheffield United on eight. Furthermore, no other team has played more games at Wembley than Brentford, having the joint-most with Shrewsbury Town on five.

Fulham have reached the playoff final twice in the last three seasons; their last trip to Wembley being a 1-0 win over Aston Villa. However, they have not beaten their London rivals in their last five encounters and have only won one game in their last 10 matches against them.

Tyler’s Take

This is set to be a very interesting final.

Brentford haven’t lost to Fulham this season, but their record in the playoffs has been shocking compared to their rivals, who have been there and done it recently against Aston Villa.

Both of their attacks have goals in them. For Brentford you have Watkins, Mbeumo and Said Benrahma, who have scored 59 goals between them this season and is one of the best attacks we’ve seen in this league. For Fulham, you’ve got Aleksander Mitrovic – who seems to be a bit ‘touch and go’ for tomorrow’s game – and is the joint top scorer in the division with Watkins. Along with him there’s Ivan Cavaleiro, Anthony Knockaert and not to mention Kebano, who has been impressive during the playoff period.

The Bees’ defence is the second best in the league, conceding 10 goals less than their opponents and with their current record against Fulham, you would naturally back them for the win, but their playoff form is a worry.

Will Brentford make it ninth time lucky and become the 50th team to play in the Premier League? Or will Fulham claim their second win at Wembley in three seasons? Personally, my money’s on Thomas Frank’s side!

Prediction: Brentford 2-1 Fulham