Fulham vs. Brentford

Fulham hosts Brentford under the lights at Craven Cottage on Saturday. Kickoff is at 3pm on USA Network. I'm really getting sick of this USA Network scheduling!

Last season Fulham had two memorable wins against Brentford thanks to Harry "He's Done It Again" Wilson. It put to bed a few years of frustration against the Bees. I remember when Fulham faced Brentford in the League Cup in 2014, it was the first time they had played each other in a while and GJ said something along the lines of "Brentford like to think there is a rivalry between us, but they are just a small club and there is no rivalry." Things have certainly changed. Brentford lost that cup match, but beat Fulham twice in the Championship that season. The rivalry certainly developed with a couple seasons in the Championship, but the promotion playoff win for Fulham cemented a proper rivalry that has now become one of the most anticipated matches of the season for Fulham.

After last season's results Brentford will be up for this match. Many had written them off this season after so many changes in the summer. Despite losing their best players and long time manager, they've been okay. I hope that Fulham doesn't come into this one thinking this is a less competitive team than the past few seasons, because they are still going to cause problems for Fulham.

Brentford did play a mid-week cup match against Aston Villa who they beat after penalties. Brentford have managed to beat Villa twice already this season - once in the league and once in the tournament. Fulham will have the advantage of a fully rested and hopefully healthy squad. I'm still concerned about Robinson. I thought we'd see him play against Leeds, but he stayed on the bench. Sessegnon was fine, but I still want to see Robinson. But the big question for Fulham is "Will Kevin start?" He was sparkling in his limited time off the bench against Leeds. I think we'd all like to see him out there at kickoff to see more of what he can offer, but Silva is very conservative so I won't be surprised if the lineup is unchanged.

A comfortable win sure would be nice, but those are pretty darn rare under Silva in the Premier League. Expect another close one that comes down to the wire.