PREVIEW: Brentford face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday evening

It’s been quite the few days for Brentford.

Monday night, of course, sees our trip to Fulham for the West London derby. The build-up to which has included last weekend’s 4-3 defeat of Ipswich Town, shortly followed by progression to the League Cup quarter-finals at home to Sheffield Wednesday. The somewhat dubious offering of a midweek trip to Newcastle United to decide who reaches the semis being the reward for a win on penalties.

All five Brentford spot kicks converted in fine style before Mark Flekken made himself the hero of the hour when saving the visitor’s critical fifth. In truth, the game should probably been wrapped up long before given the possession and chances created by Brentford. Instead, a sloppily conceded goal on the hour mark – something acknowledged after the game by our goalkeeper as caused by his selecting the wrong one out of many possibilities – brought the game level and somewhat took the wind out of our sails.

For me, the positives being that we still got through. Football is a team game and whilst the equaliser is what many onlookers may focus on, let’s not forget there were more than enough chances to win it down the other end. Profligate finishing costs games.

Thankfully, there were no such issues in the Ipswich match. KLP running the show last weekend as the Bees set another new Premier League record – becoming the first team to concede three goals in successive home games yet continue on to win them both. The returning Wissa now officially credited with both of his efforts – a feat matched by his partner in bromance, Bryan Mbeumo.

The other plus point about the Wednesday game being that with the trip to Fulham being held over to Monday night, there have been 48 hours more than usual to recover. As such, Thomas Frank was able to play a stronger team than might perhaps have been expected. The returning Matthias Jensen giving him cause for selection problems – of the nicest sort.

I’d imagine he’ll start on the bench with the rest of the team dependent on the fitness of Kris Ajer, who has missed the two aforementioned games. He’ll start on the left if ready with Sepp can den Berg on the right of a four-man defence. Otherwise, the Dutchman will go left with Mads Roerslev right. The core midfield of Jensen, Norgaard and Damsgaard will have KLP out left and Wissa up top. Man of the moment Bryan Mbeumo finishing things off on the right.

Personally speaking, I’m really liking what we have seen of Jayden Meghoma so far. The new signing is only 18 but don’t be surprised if we see him soon. The game at Craven Cottage probably a bit early but if the injuries bite, who knows? One thing’s for sure, he’s definitely a name for the longer term.

As for Fulham, who cares? They sit below the Bees in the table (quelle surprise) although one has to acknowledge that whilst the summer signing of Emile Smith Rowe was perhaps unexpected, his change from squad player to being the big fish in a small pond has seen the player thrive.

We could talk about Fulham and their litany of awfulness for hours. A swimming pool on the roof. The Neutral stand. The Gin bar. Clackers. Foam fingers. Sponge cakes. Cheese boards on the train. Run out music for the warm-up. That business with the statue. Official half-and-half scarves in the club shop. The easy deploying of a fishing-rod emoji to fans who can’t even sell out their own stadium for the West. London. Derby. Yes, that’s West London folks.

If anybody still needs a ticket then the new stand – that one that took longer to build than Stonehenge – still has plenty of space when checking their website on Friday morning. Just £105 for adults and £55 for the kids…

A game with Fulham is one steeped in history and memories. Gary Blissett coming together with Jim Stannard. The 4-0 pre-promotion humping at Griffin Park. Stuart Dallas with the best goal ever in the Championship 4-1 trashing. Jota in the last minute. Last season’s 3-0 defeat in front of their own fans. The list goes on and on.