Brentford vs Fulham, preview
Brentford takes on Fulham in their most meaningful meeting since the two played for promotion at Wembley a few years ago. If Brentford wins their two final games AND Manchester City beats Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Final, Brentford will qualify for the Europa Conference League. Fulham are mathematically still in contention, but European qualification is very unlikely for them – they would surely be happy to prevent Brentford from qualifying though.
Recent history
Earlier this season, Fulham bombarded Brentford with crosses and shots from all over the pitch. The Bees defended well until finally cracking and giving up a pair of goals in injury time. It was a tough loss, and took a little of the glow off of Vitaly Janelt's left footed rocket from nearly 30 yards out.
Pre-game correlation
With nearly a full season of stats already registered, some clear similarities and differences can be drawn between the two clubs.
Pre-game prediction #1
This season, Fulham has made the 3rd most number of substitutes in the league, while Brentford has made the 4th fewest. Fulham will make more subs than Brentford in this game.
Pre-game prediction #2
Fulham and Brentford both rely heavily on crosses, generally and especially crosses into the penalty area. Fulham leads the league and Brentford is 4th. Across the entire league, there are on average 35.3 crosses per game this season. Brentford and Fulham will beat that average and will combine for 36 or more crosses.
Pre-game prediction #3
The two clubs have conceded the fewest penalties in the league, with Brentford only conceding 1 and Fulham 2. There will not be a penalty in this game.
Pre-game prediction #4
When it comes to taking corners this season, Brentford have been extremely consistent with a league leading 98.5% in-swingers. Fulham on the other hand mix it up with a nearly even distribution of in-swingers and out-swingers. Their 85 out-swingers lead the league. Brentford will only take in-swingers and Fulham will take a mix of in- and out-swingers.
Pre-game prediction #5
The teams have similar but different approaches to using substitutes. Fulham have made the 3rd most subs in the league while Brentford have made the 4th fewest. However, they lead (or trail?) the league in average minutes per substitute appearance, Brentford the least at 15 mins/sub and Fulham next at 16 mins/sub. Barring injury, red card or other freak event, neither team will make a sub before the 60th minute.
Other data stories
Brentford's streaky season
The Bees have been a team of streaks this season, which have perhaps made the team hard to figure out, but easy to talk about. Here are a few of their notable streaks:
- Scored a goal in the first minute in 3 straight games (September) – and of course the 2nd minute in the 4th game
- Undefeated in their first 8 home games (August to December)
- Winless in their next 8 home games (December to April)
- Winless in their first 9 road games (August to December)
- 5 straight road wins to start 2025 (January to March)
- 4 straight wins (and 6 straight undefeated) in the final stretch of the season (April to May)
Bees fans will naturally hope the final streak will stretch to 6 straight wins, but Fulham and the Wolves will do their best to try to end that streak. Only time will tell.
This story was published on 16 May 2025. It was written by Dennis Flood. The image at the top of this story was generated using AI.
