Following Championship Play-Off Final heartbreak at Fulham’s hands in August, Brentford welcome their West-London rivals to Brentford Community Stadium in a tasty London derby in Carabao Cup Fourth Round.
Brentford are looking to reach their first Quarter-Final in this competition after twice falling at this hurdle previously, whereas Fulham are looking to reach the last eight for the first time since 2004-05 season.
Team News
Rico Henry is unlikely to feature for Brentford after limping off during their 1-1 draw at Millwall on Saturday with a hamstring injury, although it isn’t expected to keep him sidelined for weeks.
Mathias Jensen is also doubtful after suffering an ankle injury during that match as Bees manager, Thomas Frank looks to potentially rotate his squad.
Fulham have a near full squad available for selection with Kenny Tete ruled out after suffering a calf injury in their league defeat at home to Aston Villa on Monday.
Cottagers’ manager, Scott Park however is set to ring the changes as he has done in recent weeks during a hectic run of fixtures.
Stat Attack
- Brentford are unbeaten in four of five League Cup meetings against Fulham (W3, D1, L1), although their first four clashes in this competition came in a pair of First Round two-legged ties in 1988-89 and 92-93 seasons (W3, D1), with the Bees losing their only single legged clash in August 2014 at home by a 1-0 result.
- Fulham are visiting the Brentford Community Stadium for the first time but have won just one of their last five away trips to the Bees’ old home of Griffin Park (W1, L4)
- Brentford have lost both of their two previous Fourth Round appearances in this competition against top flight opposition, albeit losing away from home in those matches.
Prediction
Brentford will certainly be in the mood for this clash because this is a great opportunity to gain revenge for August’s Championship Play-Off Final defeat, plus show that their wins over Southampton and West Brom weren’t flukes in their on-going quest to reach a first Quarter-Final in this competition.
Fulham meanwhile seem to be saving their best defensive performances for this competition because their defending in Premier League have been nothing short of atrocious at times this season, which could play into Brentford’s hands if can get on front foot early because Parker will expect major improvement from his Cottagers after Monday’s home shambles against Aston Villa.
Brentford however have already knocked out two Premier League teams in Southampton and West Brom albeit away from home, which shows just how tough a task this is for Fulham but if their defence is still sloppy then there will be one result.
Prediction: Brentford 2-0 Fulham
Result: Brentford 3-0 Fulham
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