Relive how Fulham reached the Premier League

With all the pageantry and the like still to come, the players are already heading out onto the field.

No fans here of course. A truly eerie feel.

Ex-players of both Brentford and Fulham have been showing support for their former clubs.

QPR and former Brentford boss Mark Warburton told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It would be a magnificent achievement for any club to go through this play-off route to the land of riches which is the Premier League.

“I need to be careful what I say because I’m the QPR manager of course (!), but so much hard work has been done at Brentford and it would be a very special achievement for any club to make that step.

“They’re two good football teams, you look at the attacking threat that Brentford offer, but you also look at the quality in depth and attacking threat that Scott has at Fulham - I think we’re in for a very good game of football and more open than people imagine.

“They’re two teams who want to play football and will relish the challenge.”

Paul Dingsdale: Ah Championship play-off final day... brings back my greatest football memory... Bolton 4 Reading 3. 2-0 down, facing a penalty and came back to win. Lager and a random box of cherries on the bus back into Ealing. Good times.

That was the 1995 final and what a game it was, wonder if we'll have as many goals this evening?

My own club has a shambolic record in the play-offs so the less said about that the better.

My favourite play-off finals tend to be the old Division One classics from the early/mid-1990s.

Craig Maskell's goal for Swindon against Leicester in 1993, where he whacks his shot in off the post and there's an audible 'smack' - is possibly my number one moment.

I want to hear from you - best play-off finals, favourite moments of the EFL season, worst moments for those seeking catharsis.

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Two years ago when Fulham were here for the Championship play-off final, the club's fans formed a 'White Wall' in support of their club.

The experience at Wembley this evening is a world away from that May day in 2018, with a white 'Ful Force' banner taking its place behind one of the goals instead.

There were very few followers of either club to be spotted on Olympic Way on my walk from the tube station, although there were some vocal Brentford supporters preparing to watch in a bar in the Box Park.

Bees fans have seen their club beaten in three play-off finals before.

If they were to lose this one they'd set a new record for the most unsuccessful English Football League play-off campaigns.

Should that happen, at least they won't have Fulham fans crowing at them on the way back to west London.

We all know that the main prize on offer to tonight's winner is the chance to test themselves against England's best in the Premier League next season.

Plus a nice trophy, of course...

Eight of the players that started Fulham's play-off final win against Aston Villa in May 2018 remain with the club - so there is a sizeable contingent who know just what to expect this evening.

While this time there won't be nearly 80,000 fans roaring on from the Wembley bowl, there are the same pressures, same nerves and even more heightened rewards for the winners.

Goalkeeper Marek Rodak has also been a winner, helping loan club Rotherham United overcome Shrewsbury in the 2018 League One final.

Captain Tom Cairney was the matchwinner last time, more than ensuring his place in Fulham folklore. He will again be key today in the hurly-burly of midfield.

Nick Bruzon: Can't wait for this. Have been through all of Brentford's previous eight play-off campaigns. They haven't ended well but now the Griffin Park curse has been lifted, it's going to be ninth time lucky.

David Ljunggren: The romantic in me wants Brentford to win but the Newcastle-supporting cynic in me favours Fulham because they look more likely to come straight back down and reduce the pressure on the Magpies.

For many Brentford fans, the play-offs are a taboo subject.

After all, when you've had as many disappointments as they have, who would want to hark back to them?

Old Wembley? 1997, Division Two, Crewe. Cardiff's Millennium Stadium? 2002, Division Two, Stoke. New Wembley? 2013, League One, Yeovil.

Throw in five unsuccessful semi-final attempts, and you'd be forgiven for thinking tonight's opportunity is almost a curse disguised as a blessing.

All will be forgotten, though, with victory tonight.

Ex-Fulham striker Bobby Zamora told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I grew up playing against Scott Parker as a kid, we played together at a few clubs and for England and we roomed together at West Ham.

"He’s a fantastic lad, he knows his football and he’s got a really calm way about him.

"I think he’s got a great future in the game and from what he’s shown so far, he’s doing the right things."

Former Brentford forward Marcus Gayle told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I’d like to think we’ve had our blip and have recovered tremendously from that.

"We’re back onto good form and if we can perform how we did in our last game, it should make for a very good game at Wembley.

"It’s a collective, team effort. Ollie Watkins will get the headlines because he’s the focal point up top, but he’s got two able wide men in Said Benrahma and Bryan Mbeumo either side that have been causing terror to defences all season.

"I’m going for a tight game and a 2-1 win for Brentford."

In a season spanning more than 12 months, with highs, lows, laughs and sorrows, picking a most memorable moment might be a difficult one.

But I want you to tell us here at BBC Sport what you'll remember forever.

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I'll give you a couple that stand out for me. One of them involves Brentford. I commentated for radio on their 5-1 win at Hull City back in February.

Aside from an emotional hat-trick for Bees forward Said Benrahma following the death of his father, there was also a ridiculous goal scored by Hull's Ryan Tafazolli from his own penalty area.

He whacked it long, it bounced and went straight through David Raya like a ghost. Quite farcical. It was actually quite difficult to explain to listeners why such a goal had happened. A crazy moment.

The other one has to be Wigan's 8-0 win over Hull after the restart. To be 7-0 up at half-time in a second-tier fixture is quite an achievement. Not so much for poor Hull.

Both teams ended up going down, as Hull finished bottom and Wigan were relegated by a 12-point deduction for going into administration - after their appeal was dismissed earlier today.

Earlier today, ex-Fulham striker Barry Hayles told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Hopefully Aleksandar Mitrovic will be fit because he brings a different dimension to Fulham. They can get a lot more balls into the box earlier and they can play off him.

"If he’s not fit, I’m sure the other players will be ready to step up and Fulham will have a more measured attacking option if he doesn’t play.

"Brentford have got the upper hand because they’ve beaten Fulham on both occasions this season and Fulham haven’t scored a goal against them, so that’s something Fulham will have to put right.

"It’ll be tight but I’m going for a 1-0 for Fulham."

So, no Aleksandar Mitrovic to start tonight, but he is a weapon available to Scott Parker off the bench.

Fulham's record without the big Serb is decent. Six wins from eight in the league and play-offs in his absence, that one defeat coming against Cardiff in the last outing.

He brings much to the team though, according to one former Craven Cottage favourite...

While parachute payments soften the blow to a club's bank balance after relegation from the Premier League, there is no such 'sticking plaster' for the players.

As such, Fulham boss Scott Parker has done an impressive job of flipping the mentality of the players, many of who were unable to avoid the drop last term.

That faith has paid off, with Fulham in the mix for automatic promotion right to the finish and now just 90 minutes away from an immediate return to the top flight.

"When teams get relegated there are big wounds, and we were in a low spell," Parker said.

"The biggest challenge was obviously trying to implement a philosophy and install a real identity on the pitch.

"It's been a rocky road this season because you can't just have a magic wand to go from a weak mentality to fighting to win the division you are in.

"I see a massive improvement from where we were, and a team that is progressing and resilient."

Despite their relative success this season, there is the feeling of the 'underdog' about Brentford going into this most intense of derbies.

Neighbours Fulham were an established Premier League club for more than a decade, faced giants such as Roma, Juventus and Hamburg to Craven Cottage, and played in a Europa League final.

They are equals this evening, but Bees boss Thomas Frank knows games like this are more familiar to Fulham's players than his own.

"They are a bigger club than us," Frank said. "This is not a mind game, this is a fact.

"They got relegated from the Premier League last year and have the parachute money.

"They have experience from the final two years ago and they have more experience in their squad to play a game like this than us.

"Yes, we beat them twice [this season] and that can maybe give us a bit of confidence. But the final is another story."

There was very little to separate these two teams in the league table in terms of results, although Brentford did have a superior goal difference.

The Bees have also had the edge in regular season meetings - beating Fulham twice, including a post-restart win in June.

Tonight, as both camps have acknowledged, is a one-off and history has no bearing.

Who’s going to take out the big prize? Why not let us know what you think?

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Unsurprisingly given the fact the two clubs finished on equal points, divided by goal difference, Fulham have some nifty figures of their own.

Aleksandar Mitrovic also has 26 goals to his name, but his have come in just 40 matches. Goalkeeper Marek Rodak has 15 clean sheets.

Meanwhile, and only Leeds and West Bromwich Albion, both of whom won automatic promotion, lost fewer games than Scott Parker's side.