Up next: Brentford (a)
04/05/2024 09:51
Fulham’s season might not have much more riding on it – but a derby at Brentford this weekend offers an opportunity for the Whites to finish with a flourish. Marco Silva certainly talked a good game during yesterday’s press conference – highlighting the importance of the fixture to the fans and the need to deliver both a better performance and result than they managed against the Bees at Craven Cottage in August on the same day that Aleksandar Mitrovic finally departed for Saudi Arabia.
Fulham’s season has been far more successful than we all feared when the Serbian finally forced through his transfer – and much of that is down to what Silva has managed to magic up from a well-drilled squad. The proof of a top coach comes for me in making the most of their existing resources and there are a couple of shining examples of the genius that the Fulham fans laud in Silva in two players who have become key figures during the second half of the season. Mitrovic’s compatriot Sasa Lukic had endured a tough introduction to English football, largely introduced as a substitute and struggling to hold down a regular place following his move from Torino, but he has been brilliant in the engine room since coming back into the side earlier this year.
Lukic’s renaissance has hardly grabbed half as many headlines as that of Rodrigo Muniz, who had been written off by most before he was selected for the trip to Burnley at the start of February. The Brazilian had been a promising understudy to Mitrovic in the Championship but barely featured on loan at Middlesbrough after Tony Pulis was replaced – and there was little sign that he was about to hit a purple patch, never mind become the Premier League’s player of the month or submit goal of the season contenders like the astonishing bicycle kick at Sheffield United. Only Cole Palmer and Phil Foden have managed more league goals since February than Muniz’s nine – and the former Flamengo forward is now Silva’s first choice striker on merit.
Captain Tom Cairney admitted last week that there is a sense that Fulham’s campaign is rather fizzling out, especially after the pedestrian start against Crystal Palace last Saturday was followed by Jeffrey Schlupp’s superb late equaliser that meant the Whites had to settle for a point despite a much improved second half showing. A derby does offer a unique opportunity to put things right – and Fulham are definitely due a win at Brentford, having lost six of the last seven away trips. The skipper actually scored the decisive second goal at the very end of the Whites’ last win – which came at Griffin Park eight years ago.
Silva hailed the influence of his opposite number Thomas Frank during his press-match conference. There is no doubt that the Dane has endured the toughest season of his tenure at Brentford this term, but his side have scrambled clear of the relegation zone – easing any worries with a thumping win over Luton that pushed their opponents closer towards the drop zone. They have found derby matches a little tougher to crack than in previous seasons, having gained just a single point from their last six meetings with London rivals, but tend to raise their game against Fulham. Ivan Toney, a regular scorer in this fixture, will be looking to end one of the longest barren runs of his carer: the England international, whose future is once again the subject of feverish speculation, hasn’t scored in nine league matches. The Whites will need to keep him quiet again this afternoon.
MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, A. Robinson, Diop, Bassey; Palhinha, Lukic; Willian, Iwobi, Pereira; Muniz. Subs: Rodak, Tete, Ream, Reed, Cairney, Wilson, De Cordova-Reid, Traore, Jimenez.
