Brentford’s meetings with Fulham in the Premier League last season produced 10 goals and a victory apiece.

Ahead of Saturday’s game at Craven Cottage, we spoke with Peter Rutzler, Fulham reporter for The Athletic, to get the lowdown on the Bees’ west London neighbours.

Fulham started the Premier League season with a 1-0 win at Everton last weekend. What did you make of the opener, from their perspective?

It was a bit of a smash and grab. They struggled a lot in the first half, were not particularly sharp or at their fluent best and lost the ball quite a lot, so I think they will be pretty pleased to have come away with three points.

I do not think they deserved three points, but it is the best way to start. To be honest, it was a really important win because Fulham’s start to the season is one of the toughest.

There is the derby with Brentford, then they face Man City and Arsenal away before the international break, so without a win at Goodison Park, there was the potential to go into that break without a point and with pressure on them.

To get off the mark was great and gives them something to build on.

There were reports earlier in the week that Al Hilal were lining up another bid for Aleksandar Mitrovic, after previous approaches were rejected. Does this transfer saga end with his departure?

It is difficult to say. This whole summer has been one of seeing off suitors and I think Fulham expected that because they had such a good season last season and key players, not just Mitrovic, but Joao Palhinha and Willian, as well as head coach Marco Silva, were going to attract interest.

They have come through it relatively unscathed so far. Mitrovic is the one that has seemed the most likely of all of them and it is quite clear he wanted to go. Al Hilal have not yet made a bid Fulham have accepted, but that could change very quickly, perhaps even before the weekend. Fulham’s priority is to ensure they get what he is worth.

Mitrovic has been integral to the club over the last five years, but even more so since Silva’s appointment. He is critical to the way they play as they are built to get him in front of goal to score. He has an aura about him in attack so would be very difficult to replace, but, at the same time, for a club of Fulham’s size - as Brentford know - everyone has a price.

The encouraging thing is that Mitrovic came off the bench against Everton and played okay and it is not like his performances have dropped off. It has not been an easy summer by any means, but even if he does stay, there is a glimmer of hope that he would still be committed. There is a long way to go yet, though, so let’s see.

What have you made of Fulham’s summer business so far?

It has been slow in terms of incomings, but I think it will probably be seen as a positive at this point because they have retained their key players.

West Ham were interested in Palhinha, Willian almost had his head turned by Nottingham Forest but stayed, then Al Shabab came in and still he stayed.

They have made some good signings, too. Calvin Bassey looks a very good addition - he can play centre-back and left-back and did well for Rangers. He had a difficult year at Ajax, but he has come in and looks very good.

Raul Jimenez is Premier League proven. He had a difficult last year at Wolves, so will want to improve on that. He is the kind of player that may do well under Silva, who seems to get more out of players that are generally written off. You can go through the whole team at Fulham and make a case for that.

Adama Traore has just come in, too. That was a bit of a curveball, but they need wingers as they lost three at the start of the window in Manor Solomon, Neeskens Kebano and Dan James. He is a talented player and, again, he is a bit unrefined, but he is the kind of player that could prove a point at Fulham. To get him on a free is a good bit of business as there is limited risk there.

There is still a lot they need to do and Silva has said a few times the squad is a little bit thin, so they will need to improve in terms of squad depth. The platform is there and they have not lost anyone major yet so, for now, they are in an okay place.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on?

I will go with Bernd Leno, which would suggest the other team is going to be very busy and have a lot of shots!

He was fantastic against Everton, made nine saves and basically won Fulham the game. I think he was unlucky not to get Player of the Season last term; he has been a difference-maker so often for the club and I can imagine that, when Brentford do get their opportunities this weekend, they will find a very tough obstacle to overcome in goal.

How is Marco Silva likely to set up at Craven Cottage?

The set-up will be the same as it has always been over the last couple of years. It will be a 4-3-3 with Antonee Robinson and Tete as full-backs; in the midfield three, there will be a no.6 - which is normally Palhinha, but he is a bit of a doubt - and then two central midfielders in front of him, one being more like a no.10 pushing on higher. That was Tom Cairney last weekend, but Andreas Pereira has made that position his own.

Then there will be two wide players. Fulham like to build up in those wide positions, creating space and getting crosses in for the frontman. That was Willian and Harry Wilson last weekend and will probably be the same coming into this week. Then there will be one target man up front, drawing players around him, making space for others and the team revolving around them. 

What is your score prediction for the first west London derby of the season?

I will go for a 1-1 draw. It is Fulham’s first home game and they will want to put in a better performance than they did at Goodison Park.

This game matters a lot and the same fixture last season was fantastic, with Fulham nicking the win in stoppage-time.

I expect a similar game with a high intensity, but Brentford were very impressive against Tottenham, so a draw would be a good result for the Cottagers.