Football – England – Championship
Friday 21st November 2014 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Friday night brings us two Championship fixtures, the first being a clash in the capital with Brentford taking on Fulham at Griffin Park with both teams needing the three points at their respective ends of the division.
Brentford first then, and The Bees currently sit in 6th place and amongst the play-off pack following a run of three straight Championship wins against Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Millwall which has seen them progress up the league ladder in their first season back in the second flight for some time.
The hosts have made a solid start back in the Championship then but the challenge is to remain in the top six and be amongst the play-off pack come May – Brentford do have a solid record at home though with stats of 4-3-1 12/9 and they’re unbeaten in their last four at Griffin Park.
Brentford have also been amongst the goals lately too as they’ve scored 8 in their last three matches, while forward Andre Gray (6 goals) looks the likeliest anytime goalscorer and he bagged a brace against Millwall last Saturday.
Visitors Fulham have settled down in the past few weeks following a rather turbulent reign under former manager Felix Magath which saw The Cottagers relegated from the Premier League and then start their new Championship season in disastrous fashion as they lost six of their first seven matches.
Kit Symons has since taken over and his players have responded to the more relaxed but confident air of the Welshman as his side have now put together an unbeaten run of six matches which has lifted them away from the bottom three of the Championship.
Recent wins over Bolton Wanderers, Norwich City, Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town were all achieved at their Craven Cottage ground though, while their away record still needs a lot of improvement which stands at 1-2-5 13/24. That said, Fulham have taken a point at both Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic in their last two on the road.
Brentford have been solid on home turf this season and have proven hard to beat while their strike weapon Gray continues to bang in the goals. In fact, Gray has scored in the double figures in four of the last five seasons. Symons has stopped the bleeding at Fulham and they’ve certainly improved at home. But their away form is a work in progress and may still require some time to see the hard work come to fruition. I’ll back Brentford with the round ball as the draw isn’t out of the question either – could be a narrow 1-0 win for the hosts.
Pick: Brentford AH0 @ 1.75 Bet Victor
