Brentford vs Fulham Prediction: Toney to send timely reminder to Southgate

Brentford suffered a 1-0 defeat at Everton last Saturday but their Premier League survival was already secured earlier in the day with Luton Town's 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Next, the Bees face Fulham at the Gtech Community Stadium in the final west London derby of the 2023/24 campaign.

Check out my Brentford vs Fulham prediction for Saturday's 15:00 kick-off below, where you can also find out all the latest team news and match odds.

Before their defeat at Goodison Park last time out, Brentford were on a five-game unbeaten run which included back-to-back wins over Sheffield United and Luton, results which practically secured safety in what has been a tumultuous season for Thomas Frank's side.

It now looks highly unlikely that they will finish anywhere below their current standing of 16th, and they can still end the campaign above Everton (15th) and Crystal Palace (14th), who are one point and two points ahead, respectively.

Brentford's penultimate home game sees them host west London rivals Fulham, who will finish above the Bees if they avoid defeat on Saturday.

After three defeats in their last five games, the top 10 looks to be out of reach for the Cottagers now, but they can still match last season's points tally of 52 and finish as high as 11th.

Team News

Neal Maupay was ineligible to face parent club Everton under the terms of his loan agreement but is free to return this weekend.

It's likely to be too soon for Aaron Hickey to make his comeback from a near six-month injury absence, while Ben Mee, Josh Dasilva and Rico Henry are out for the rest of the season.

Fulham have no fresh injury concerns, with Marco Silva able to select from a full squad again.

Willian could return to the starting XI after appearing as a substitute last time out, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid most likely to make way for the Brazilian.

Match Odds

Brentford are 21/20 to win back-to-back games at home, giving them an implied win probability of 48.8%, while the visitors can be backed at 21/10 (32.3%).

The draw is priced at 12/5, with both teams to score at 1/2 and over 2.5 goals at 4/7.

Over 4.5 goals @ 100/30

This is a fixture that has not disappointed in the last couple of seasons.

All three head-to-heads since August 2022 have finished 3-2, all in the favour of the home side. You can back another 3-2 home win at 18/1 on Saturday, but even the odds of 100/30 for there to be at least five goals looks tempting.

Brentford were involved in a couple of high-scoring games last month, drawing 3-3 at Aston Villa and beating Luton 5-1 in their next away outing, while you don't have to go too far back for the last time Fulham fans witnessed at least five goals in a game, as they drew 3-3 at Sheffield United on March 30.

Both clubs have little to worry about at this stage of the season and can put a real emphasis on putting on a show for the supporters, and I think that's what will happen here with an entertaining affair producing plenty of goals.

Ivan Toney to score 2+ goals @ 13/2

Ivan Toney made a terrific return from suspension earlier this year, scoring in four of his first five games, a run of form that appeared to reignite his Euro 2024 dream with England.

However, the 28-year-old has failed to score in his last nine appearances for the Bees, eight of which have been starts. An injury appears to have been troubling the striker, who was left on the bench against Sheffield United on April 13 and left out of the squad against Luton a week later.

Toney was back in the side last Saturday, though, completing the full 90-plus minutes against Everton without any issues.

There has been some talk that Brentford may look to manage his minutes given the uncertainty surrounding the forward, with Frank potentially looking to the future, but I don't see that happening given the strong bond apparent between manager and player.

I think Frank and the team will be doing as much as they can to help Toney earn a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad in Germany this summer, and that means giving him as many minutes as possible to prove his worth.

It's certainly not been for the want of trying on Toney's part as he registered three shot attempts last week, seeing two of his efforts saved by his international colleague Jordan Pickford.

Toney can take confidence from his record against Fulham, as he has scored in each of his two appearances against them since the Bees were promoted in 2022.

I fancy his chances of scoring at least once, and as I'm backing plenty of goals in Saturday's fixture, the price of 13/2 for him to find the net at least twice piques my interest.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.