English Premier

2026-04-18 - Brentford vs Fulham

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Brentford v Fulham
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 18th April 2026 - Kick Off 12:30pm
This game is live on TV

Brentford

Keith Andrews has to be very pleased with the way the season has gone for his Brentford team, but the manager will have enough ambition to also be frustrated by recent results. Key points have been dropped from winning positions and that has prevented Brentford from not only moving into the top six of the Premier League standings, but perhaps build real momentum towards a surprising Champions League securing position.

The top five are guaranteed to be playing Champions League Football and there is a chance that 6th place will also be given a spot in the League Phase of that competition next season depending on Aston Villa's conclusion to the campaign. With all that being said, Brentford are 7th in the Premier League table and just 5 points behind 5th placed Liverpool, despite a recent run of draws. The Bees have a 7-6-3 record at the Gtech Community Stadium in the top flight this season.

Brentford are unbeaten in 6 games in all competitions in normal time, although they did suffer a FA Cup Fifth Round defeat on Penalties during that time. The last 4 Premier League games have all ended in draws, including consecutive 2-2 draws at the Gtech Community Stadium against Wolves and Everton. Brentford have now won 1 of the last 7 Premier League games at home, which has slowed the push towards the top six of the Division.

Rico Henry, Vitaly Janelt and Jordan Henderson are expected to miss out, while Aaron Hickey is a doubt.

Fulham

There are a host of clubs that will have certainly taken some interest in the fact that up to six places in the Premier League could be opened up for places in the 2026/27 Champions League. One of those is Fulham, although the defeat at Anfield last weekend was a bit of a setback, while Marco Silva has long aimed at taking this club into any UEFA competition and that remains a possibility.

Of course the question remains whether Marco Silva would be managing any European adventure next season and Fulham fans have to be a little concerned about that with a number of mid-table Premier League jobs opening up this summer. The concentration for now has to be on improving the 12th place position that Fulham find themselves after results last weekend, although they remain just 3 points behind Brentford in 7th.

Fulham's loss at Liverpool last Saturday means they have won 1 of the last 5 games in all competitions and been beaten 3 times during that run. After avoiding defeat in consecutive away Premier League games, Fulham's defeat at Anfield means they have lost 4 of the last 6 on their travels in the top flight and earned a single win in that time.

Kenny Tete and Harrison Reed are expected to miss out, while long-term absentee Kevin is still pushing to be included before the end of the current campaign.

Head to Head

Fulham came from behind to comfortably win the first of these West London derby games 3-1 at Craven Cottage back in September.

They are now unbeaten in 4 against Brentford and have beaten them 3 times in a row.

Last season Fulham came from behind to win 2-3 at the Gtech Community Stadium and that ended a 5 game winless run when travelling to face Brentford.

Prediction

There will be some regret in both of these camps after recent results, which has slowed the push up the Premier League standings that Brentford and Fulham fans would have been hoping to see.

The managers are going to be disappointed too, but they have to get the players ready for this early Saturday kick off.

A West London derby will certainly build up the atmosphere and there is still plenty on the line for Brentford and Fulham as they bid to earn a spot in any UEFA run competition for next season. A strong end to the season may even be rewarded with Champions League Football, which would be a huge financial boost for either club, but recent form has to be changed very quickly.

Brentford have been involved in too many draws of late and have only won 1 of the last 7 Premier League games at home.

However, they were leading 2-0 against bottom club Wolves before somehow dropping two points and last weekend Brentford led Everton into injury time before another 2-2 draw.

The visiting team have had issues of late and Fulham have won 1 of the last 5 in all competitions and been beaten 3 times in that run. The loss at Liverpool last weekend makes it 4 losses in 6 away Premier League games and so there is every chance that both sets of players are just performing with a slight lack of confidence right now.

Results are the most important thing in football, but Brentford may feel they deserve to be favourites in this derby.

The Bees created the much better chances against both Wolves and Everton in the last couple of home games and they will feel fortune has just not been on their side. Scoring goals has not been much of a problem, but Keith Andrews will want to see his team just tighten up a bit at the back, even if Brentford have been punished somewhat cruelly at times.

There is enough in this Fulham team to believe they can hurt Brentford going forward, but they lacked composure in the defeat at Liverpool and better finishing may have been rewarded with a positive result.

Marco Silva's team have failed to score in 4 of the last 6 away Premier League games played and the difference between the teams in the attacking third may ultimately make the difference.

Fulham have won 3 in a row against Brentford, but they have had to come from behind in all of those fixtures.

After recent Brentford results and the manner they have been achieved, Fulham will feel they are always in this game, but the narrow lean is with the home team at the prices. There should be goals in this early Saturday kick off, but Brentford have just shown a bit more in the final third and that can see them beat Fulham for the first time since August 2023.