A fierce battle is raging in West London, but Chelsea is not involved.
Outside the Fulham and Brentfordfanbases, no one realizes just how intense their rivalry really is.
Brentford supporters have sung more aggressively than 'Beads Up,Fulham Down' to Needs Up Mother Brown since promotion last summer. It's probably not all that surprising, given that there isn't.
But Brentford boss Thomas Frank sees this as a bigger opportunity than his Unitedvisit to Manchester last week.
The match will bring back painful memories for Bees after his 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the 2020 Championship play-off final after extra time.
Frank said:
"I try to make people understand how big this game is. In some ways, it's even bigger than United.
"And now I'm in the Premier League for the first time. I did.” . . I think it means something. It will be electric. ''
Former Fulham striker Ross his McCormack fueled a resurgence of animosity in 2014 when the two sides met in his first game in 16 years.
He earned instant hero status at the Cottagers with his 1–0 victory in his second round of the League Cup, sinking the Bees with the lone goal.
McCormack was so excited by his heroic performance in the Derby that he set up a billboard congratulating him and ended up injuring his leg.
The strike certainly revitalized a much-needed flip side to a rivalry that had been weakened since the 1980s.
And with Fulham failing to maintain their position in the top of his flight and Bees promoted from Ligue 1, the club soon found themselves almost on equal footing.
And today, the feud will reach its climax as both sides gear up for the first-ever Premier League match at Craven Cottage.
However, McCormack warned Cottegers hitman Alexander Mitrovic not to repeat the billboard antics if he did hit a spectacular winner. said the Aston Villa man: ``I was so happy to score in that West London Derby that I injured my leg when I kicked the board. Once you've decided, don't do what I did!
"I was too scared to talk to my manager, Felix Magath, later. I never even went to see a physio." I was just scared of Felix and didn't want to confront him.
"In other words, even though it was the League Cup, by beating your rivals, the fans were on your side, It gave the director a lot of time. deaf.
Fulham said that Roy in his Hodgson era had reached the Europa League final in 2010, but Bees, five miles away, sat in Ligue 1.
McCormack, who arrived at his cottage in Craven from Leeds before the 2014 clash, said:
``You didn't see many Brentford fans in London at the time, so you didn't feel much of a rivalry there. I was driving to a League Cup match and I was like, 'Oh, this is a derby.' So I'm sure the rivalry was always there.
" It was the first meeting in 16 years that day, but there was constant singing and noise in the street.
"For me, it was a hidden surprise. I didn't know you hated Ford, but trust me, I learned that game very quickly.” It promises to be more and more interesting because
Craven Cottage boss Marco Silva said:
``For this game, I have to write a different story.
``We need to play with high emotion, but at the same time we need the right balance to control the game.''
