Brentford and Fulham go head-to-head in a west London derby on Saturday (12:30 BST) that could have implications for both sides' hopes of qualifying for Europe.
Thiago chasing Golden Boot
Brentford lost first-choice strikers Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa last summer but Igor Thiago has proved the perfect replacement.
The Brazilian's 21 Premier League goals so far this season is a club record in the competition, beating the 20 in a campaign scored by Mbeumo and Ivan Toney.
Thiago did not score in any of his eight Brentford games in an injury-interrupted 2024-25 season, seven of which came from the bench. But he has taken full advantage of his new first-choice role in 2025-26, in which he has started all but one of Brentford's 32 league games.
The 24-year-old, who scored in the Bees' first game of the season, has had just one barren patch, failing to score in a run of six matches from the start of December to the beginning of January.
But that New Year's Day blank against Tottenham was followed by five goals in his next two games and he has scored more Premier League goals in 2026 than any other player.
His form was rewarded with his first international cap last month and last weekend he became the first Brazilian to score 20 Premier League goals in a season.
Now just one goal behind Erling Haaland this season, could he go on to become the first man from his country to win the Premier League Golden Boot?
Fulham impress against west London rivals
This week marked the 25th anniversary of Fulham's first promotion to the Premier League – there have been ups and downs since then but three consecutive mid-table finishes have firmly established Fulham as a top-flight club.
There have also been ups and downs in 2025-26, in which the Cottagers have been inconsistent, but a strong finish to the season could mean a new club record points total for the second consecutive campaign and possible qualification for Europe.
Fulham have struggled on the road recently, winning just one of their seven Premier League away games in 2026. Only Tottenham and Wolves have collected fewer points on the road since the turn of the year than the Cottagers' five.
But while it's an away fixture, it's also pretty close to home, with fewer than five miles separating Craven Cottage from the Gtech Community Stadium.
So rather than dwelling on their poor away form, Fulham may prefer to focus on their good recent record against their west London neighbours – they have won the last three meetings.
