Fulham team news and predicted XI vs Brentford

August 17, 2023 at 5:21 pm GMT+1

Fulham got off on just the right foot in the 2023-24 Premier League season on matchday one last weekend thanks to a 1-0 win away against Everton at Goodison Park.

A second-half strike from Jamaican international winger Bobby De Cordova-Reid was enough to separate both sides come full-time despite Sean Dyche’s Toffees registering double the shots when stacked against Marco Silva’s Cottagers, but the Portuguese will hardly be upset with extracting maximum points away from home at a historically difficult ground to get a result at.

Debutant Raúl Jiménez nearly opened his account as well if not for being denied by the woodwork, while German international Bernd Leno put in a Man of the Match performance for the capital side to kick-start proceedings in earnest.

Matchday two offers another tricky fixture and a first London derby for Fulham when they welcome Thomas Frank’s Brentford to Craven Cottage, with the Bees coming in on the back of a credible point after a 2-2 draw with Tottenham last weekend.

With early season momentum on the cards, Silva’s troops could do themselves a world of good at once again targeting a top-half finish if they can manage to extract a full load of points on offer in front of home support.

Predicted XI

Team News

There are likely to be only a small handful of changes made by Silva at the weekend after finding a winning formula against Everton, which should mean that the aforementioned Jiménez will lead the forward line in place of Aleksandar Mitrović, who remains set on securing a move away from the club to join the growing summer exodus to the Roshn Saudi League.

Unfortunately for Fulham, they remain without last summer’s key signing in Portuguese midfielder João Palhinha who is still laid up in dry dock and recovering from a shoulder injury. Though Willian started against Everton, a vital cameo from Cordova-Reid could see him come into the team in his stead, while the back four should remain the same barring any last minutes issues.