The West London derby is the name given to a football derby played between any two of Brentford, Chelsea, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers, all of whom are situated within West London.
This particular derby is less prominent than other such derbies in English football, owing to the teams frequently being in separate divisions. Chelsea did not face Fulham between 1986 and 2001, and have played Brentford only seven times since 1950. QPR did not face Brentford between 1966 and 2001, and did not play Chelsea between 1996 and 2008. The derby's most common match, Chelsea vs Fulham, has taken place 82 times. By contrast, the North London derby has been contested almost 200 times, and the Merseyside derby over 230 times. The 2011–12 season campaign was the first instance of three of the west London clubs competing in the top flight in the same season: Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and Fulham. This happened for a second time in the 2022–23 season, with Brentford, Chelsea and Fulham appearing in the top flight.
According to the 2012 Football Rivalries Survey, Fulham regard Chelsea as their main rivals, QPR as their secondary rivals and then Brentford third. QPR fans identified Chelsea as their main rivals, Fulham second, Cardiff City third, Brentford and Stoke City joint fourth. Brentford fans chose Fulham as their main rivals, QPR as their secondary rivals and Chelsea as their third. Chelsea fans did not list any of the West London sides, instead selecting Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
Summary
Brentford vs Chelsea derby
There is very little rivalry between Brentford and Chelsea, mainly due to the fact that they have been in different divisions for over 60 years. The only time that the two clubs ever shared a division was in the old First Division between 1935 and 1947, but despite the fact that both clubs are local to each other, it was never seen as a big rivalry to either side, as Chelsea had been in the Football League for a longer period of time than Brentford and had stronger rivalries with the likes of West Ham United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, whereas Brentford's main rivals are Fulham and QPR. Also Brentford developed a bigger sporting rivalry with Arsenal during the 1930s as both clubs vied for the title of being London's number one club.
The only bad feeling between the clubs was soon after Chelsea's foundation and admission into the Football League in 1905, the other West London clubs, including Brentford, lost many supporters and potential supporters to the only professional Football League club in the area. Other than that, Brentford and Chelsea have always had fairly good relations, even amongst supporters. In fact, during the 1970s many Chelsea fans would come down to Griffin Park if their club were playing away. Chelsea reserves played their games at Griffin Park, and occasionally a pre season friendly is staged between the two clubs.
Brentford and Chelsea met for the first time since 1950 on 27 January 2013 in an FA Cup fourth round tie at Griffin Park which ended in a 2–2 draw. Chelsea won the replay on 17 February 2013 at Stamford Bridge 4–0.
With Brentford gaining promotion to the Premier League for the 2021–22 season, the first time in 74 years, and Fulham's relegation the previous season, this was the only West London derby in the Premier League for the season. The first game was hosted at The Bees' new Brentford Community Stadium on 16 October 2021, which Chelsea won 1–0. Brentford won the return fixture at Stamford Bridge 4–1, with goals including a brace from Vitaly Janelt and Christian Eriksen's first goal for Brentford.
Their latest meeting was on 28 October 2023 when Brentford won 2–0 at Stamford Bridge in a Premier League match. Brentford finished the 2022–23 season above Chelsea in the league table for the first time since 1939, with a ninth place finish compared to Chelsea's 12th.
Brentford vs Fulham derby
Fulham and Brentford have competed at the same level for a few periods in their history with the rivalry being fiercest during Fulham's descent to the lower leagues in the 1980s and early 90's. The two teams frequently competed between the 1920s and the 1950s in the Football League's various divisions. These games always drew bumper crowds and often caused tension on the pitch and the terraces. However, Fulham's fortunes on the pitch changed and they went on to play in the upper leagues for several decades until the two sides were to meet regularly again from 1980 onwards, a time when the rivalry was most heated. Fulham later went on to win the London Derby cup.