Key events
This is the current Premier League table.
Fulham are undoubtedly the poshest club in England. Does anyone know of a posher club in the world? Usual answers to michael.butler@theguardian.com or via X: @michaelbutler18.
Traoré has been a bit hit and miss recently, so not that surprising to see Marco Silva drop him to the bench for Reiss Nelson, who joins former Gunners Bernd Leno, Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi in Fulham’s starting XI. And what a substitute Traoré is to bring on later in the game when Brentford legs are cramping up.
Just in case you missed this after Brentford’s last game, this was quite some speech by Thomas Frank in congratulating Ethan Pinnock on 100 Premier League appearances. Pinnock, who played non-league football with Dulwich Hamlet for the first six years of his career, starts again tonight for No 101.
The teams!
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Andreas Pereira, Berge, Nelson, Smith Rowe, Iwobi, Jimenez.
Subs: Benda, Reed, Wilson, Rodrigo Muniz, Cairney, Traore, Castagne, Sessegnon, Diop.
Brentford: Flekken, Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, van den Berg, Norgaard, Janelt, Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter, Wissa.
Subs: Valdimarsson, Schade, Jensen, Carvalho, Mee, Yarmolyuk, Meghoma, Konak, Maghoma.
Preamble
Hello everyone. Fulham and Brentford might be as different as Harrods is to Hounslow, but right now the two west London clubs are eerily similar. Having lost their best player in the summer (João Palhinha and Ivan Toney), the two clubs have started this season well, all things considered, and lie 11th and 12th respectively, one point apart, both with a net goal difference of zero.
Fulham are arguably the stronger team right now, but Brentford have the better manager. Both will be aiming for a top-half finish, but would probably take survival come the season’s end. Both sides have come close to beating City at the Etihad this season and both have lost to Manchester United. The point is, nobody knows what the ceiling or the bottom is for either side. And that, like watching Adama Traoré, is quite exciting.
It’s a derby under the lights. Join me.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT.
