Big money at stake tonight
West London rivals Brentford and Fulham clash tonight to decide who plays in the English Premier League next season and it should be a thriller.
When Brentford and Fulham step out onto the arena at Wembley tonight, they compete in a one-off match widely regarded as the most valuable in the world.
The winner of the Championship promotion play-off tussle is promoted to the Premier League as the third team behind Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion, who went up automatically after occupying the top two spots at the end of the regular season.
Brentford, who were third, have since overcome Swansea City, while Fulham edged Cardiff City in the play-off semi-finals to get to tonight’s decider.
Brentford stand to earn around 160-million Pounds in additional revenue over the next three seasons if they win and return to the top flight for the first time since just after World War II.
The financial prize of promotion would be slightly less for Fulham at 135-million Pounds of additional revenue.
This is also a West London derby where Fulham bring the greater expertise into the playoff final - they have spent 14 seasons in the Premier League and
Brentford none.
Brentford’s squad contains sparse Premiership experience, whereas Fulham head coach Scott Parker could pick as many as eight of the players who took part in winning the 2018 play-off final against Aston Villa and who endured a chastening and immediate relegation.
But the secret could be Brentford’s innovative owner Matthew Benham, who introduced an analytics-influenced approach to signing players which unearthed the likes of Neal Maupay, Ezri
Konsa, Chris Mepham and Jota, before selling them on for significant profits.
The latest in that line is the Algerian playmaker Said Benrahma, who could prove to be the difference between the neighbours.
The match is the headline contest in TAB’s Soccer4, 6 and 10 pools tonight. Make your choice and go for it.