Brentford

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Thomas Frank has called for ers to be at their "very best on Sunday" as Brentford pursue their first ever European qualification.

The Bees host Fulham and know finishing eighth could be enough to secure a place in the Europa Conference League next season, however a Crystal Palace victory in Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester City would take that spot away.

"We can't control it," Frank said. "Unfortunately, it's not only up to us. Right now, we're eighth with two games to go. We can win both games, we can lose both games - that's the beauty of this wonderful league.

"We're playing against two strong teams. It'll be two even games, starting with a west London derby against Fulham. I have big belief we can win, but I'm sure Fulham think the same."

Frank's side are unbeaten in their last three home matches and will be hoping to end their campaign that way before they go on the road to Wolves for their final game of the season next weekend.

"We really need the fans, they have been very good this season, and we need them at their very, very best on Sunday," Frank added. "We really need their help, as it means the world to have their to push us forward."

Guess the current Brentford player from these three clues:

• I started my career in the youth system of Juventus.

• I moved to the Bees on loan from Serie A.

• I have only started four Premier League games for Brentford.

Come back to this page at 17:00 BST for the answer

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport Journalist

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Brentford manager Thomas Frank said that he is "optimistic" about achieving European football next season.

The club is currently eighth in the Premier League and could achieve Conference League next season if Manchester City win the FA Cup and finish in the top-five and Newcastle also finish in the Champions League places.

"I am a very positive and optimistic guy. I always dream, hope and push everyone as possible," Frank said before Sunday's game against Fulham.

"When we got promoted, we didn't see as far as potentially a club that played in Europe. But I saw a club that I knew could take some steps forward and big belief in the club.

"We never talked about relegation, respected it, but spoke about how we could develop and how can we be as high as possible. So, we are where we are now and it's very good and we need to keep going."

The Brentford boss also suggested that there is talk amongst the group of potentially playing in Europe next season: "Yes, but we can't control it. Unfortunately, it's not up to us. Right now, we are eighth in the league with two games to go. We can win both games, we can lose both games. That's the beauty of this fantastic league. The players are pushing."

The Premier League have announced the nominations for Premier League player of the season award.

After winning the league title, Liverpool have three representatives with Mohamed Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch.

Forward Salah has scored 28 goals and provided 18 assists, and is just one goal or assist away from matching the all-time record for most goal involvements in a single campaign.

Nottingham Forest have two nominees in Morgan Gibbs-White, who has netted six goals, made eight assists and created 50 chances, and Chris Wood, who has enjoyed the best season of his career in scoring 20 goals.

Arsenal, who had been Liverpool's closest challenges for much of the season, are represented by Declan Rice, after the midfielder reached double figures for combined goals (three) and assists (seven).

Newcastle United have one player on the list with Alexander Isak, who is nominated for the second season running after scoring 23 times - the second-most goals in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.

Bryan Mbeumo becomes the first Brentford nominee for the award having reached 25 direct goal involvements - the third-most in the Premier League - thanks to 18 goals and seven assists.

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The Premier League 2024-25 manager of the year shortlist, external has been announced.

Nottingham Forest's Nuno Espirito Santo, Brentford's Thomas Frank, Newcastle United's Eddie Howe, Wolves' Vitor Pereira and Liverpool's Arne Slot have all been nominated.

Voting closes 12:00 BST on Monday 19 May.

The votes from the public will then be combined with those of a of football experts to decide the winner.

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Brentford have won each of their past four Premier League games. They most recently won more consecutive league games in the same campaign between March and July 2020 (eight), while only once have they won five in a row in the top flight (February/March 1939).

After a run of eight home league games without a win, Brentford have won 4-2 against Brighton and 4-3 against Manchester United in their past two outings at Gtech Community Stadium. Only twice have they scored four or more goals in three consecutive home league games - February 1930 and September 1971.

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For the players and fans, Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi getting this injury in a situation where the offside flag should have been raised is so frustrating.

The frustration is when it is clear and obvious. Officials have been overseeing games for many years and they would always flag whether they were right or wrong.

Now technology has come into it, they are very reliant on VAR to make the right decision, the factual decision, about an offside. But, I think when an offside is so clear and obvious, it should be the duty of the assistant referee to put their flag up and stop play from the off.

When it is marginal, I understand we are a bit more hesitant when there are really fine margins, and we have seen those fine margins when goals have been given and it is a toenail to keep them on-side. I would understand it from that point of view, but it was on the halfway-line where the offside happened on Sunday, only for play to be allowed to continue.

It has been a matter of time. It has been a time bomb waiting to go off for somebody to get seriously injured. Awoniyi is the one that has got that injury - that horrific injury - because of it. Some will say it is only the first time it has happened in the duration of this rule, but it should never happen. That is how players will be looking at it, how fans and managers will be looking at it and saying 'it should never happen'. We should not wait for something to happen to reassess rules like this.

I don't like the ruling of it - it is on the halfway-line, it is clear and obviously offside, everybody in the stadium could probably see it. It should be for the assistant referee to make the decision. There are small margins in the box, I understand why they are a bit hesitant, but in open play, if somebody is sprinting, you could cause hamstring, quad, and all types of muscle injuries.

I am totally against this rule of waiting to put up the flag and I think most players and managers are as well. It's disappointing. I think it's a rule that nobody likes, and I'm sure in the summer off the back of this injury, one that will probably be reassessed.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

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"Que sera, sera - whatever will be, will be, we're going to Hungary, que sera, sera!"

That was the song booming out of the Portman Road away end after Saturday's hard-fought win brought the possibility of Brentford playing in Europe next season a step closer.

After losing at Newcastle on 2 April, we were 11th in the table with 41 points from 30 games - six points adrift of eighth-placed Brighton.

But six unbeaten matches and 14 points later, we are now in eighth spot and ahead of the Seagulls on goal difference, with our fate almost entirely in our own hands.

Win our last two matches - against local rivals Fulham and at Wolves - and, barring an unlikely goal difference swing, eighth place is ours.

It would be our highest Premier League finish and points total to date, but whether it would take us into Europe remains to be seen.

The permutations of who is going to qualify for a "European tour" next season are very complicated, but one fact which is easy to understand is that if Crystal Palace beat Manchester City in Saturday's FA Cup final, then whoever finishes eighth in the Premier League is going to miss out.

Even if that happens, we will still want to continue our strong finish to the season.

The Brentford-Fulham rivalry has been strong over the years and with their European hopes all but over, I'm sure they would like nothing better than to end ours if they are still alive after the cup final.

And although Wolves have lost back-to-back games, their form had been impressive and Molineux is a hard place to go.

It's great to be involved in such an exciting end to the season.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Ipswich and Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Ipswich fans

Robert: Once again a poor loss. It sums up the season. Another defeat due to lack of quality, fight and commitment across the park. You cannot hide from the fact that we are not good enough. We need to focus in the close season on attracting quality players with a desire to win the Championship and give a good of ourselves when back in the Premier League.

Paul: Story of our season. Plenty of endeavour but lacking in quality. Same old formation and tactics mean we are too easy to play against. Kieran McKenna needs to broaden his horizons and be more adaptable.

Bob: Only four wins all season and conceding 77 goals. To say the season has been disappointing is an understatement. The fans deserve better. I hate to say this about my team but we have been outclassed all season and the players have not been good enough or up to the challenge. We need to rebuild a team who can return us back to the Premier League. I'm sure the manager (if he stays) will be planning for the future even now.

Richard: The game was tainted by the refereeing decisions. I think Ipswich played well, in particular Julio Enciso and Omari Hutchinson. A draw would have been a fair result.

Brentford fans

Vince: Four wins in a row with Kevin Schade on fire! Could the Bees be heading for Europe? Best wishes to Ipswich - great day out and hope they bounce back!

Mel: Lucky to get the points as Ipswich should have won this. We were very exposed in the left-back position in the second half, which let them run riot. On the positive side, we maintained eighth place and the European dream is still alive, just! All the best for next season, Tractor Boys.

Pete: Cheers ref! You were so biased towards us it was embarrassing! Good first half by us but Ipswich clearly the better team in the second half!

Mitch: Brentford dominated the match up to the 70 minutes when Matthias Jensen came on. Tactically it drew Ipswich up the field and we were lucky to come away with the win. But, in every season you need some luck.

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Brentford are leading the race for eighth in Premier League and a place in next season's Conference League, but can they do it?

There are two games remaining and it is set to go down to the final day of the season but BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Michael Brown and The Telegraph's Luke Edwards believe Thomas Frank's men will secure a European spot.

"You can't assume anything just yet, but for a club of Brentford's size to be in the Conference League would be remarkable," said Edwards on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "It would be sensational.

"They are another selling club and they are constantly dealing with rumours around players and their manager Thomas Frank being wanted, but they have stayed on track.

"They are punching well above their weight and have done for a number of seasons now.

"I really hope they do get into Europe."

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Brentford manager Thomas Frank speaking to Sky Sports after the 1-0 victory over Ipswich: "I think it was exactly as tough as I expected and it showed how hard it is to win four games in a row in the Premier League. Ipswich performed well, they are clearly still fighting hard for everything. We had four, five, six opportunities where we need to kill the game but we didn't.

On the prospect of Europe: "Of course that is extremely exciting. There is a lot riding on the next few games. Let's see what happens, depending on other things. It is one game at a time and the next one is Fulham."

On sharing goal scoring around the squad: "It's extremely important to have more than one person scoring goals, it's a big part of how we play and we are very happy about that.

"I'm not too unhappy about the penalty decisions. The last one on Nathan [Collins], I thought was a penalty but there was a lot of pushing in the box [during the game].

On links with Bryan Mbeumo moving elsewhere: "Bryan is a Brentford player, I love that he is playing here for Brentford. I don't know any manager who doesn't want their best players playing on the pitch."

Matthew Howarth
BBC Sport journalist

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Much of the focus at Brentford this season has been on the goalscoring exploits of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, but Kevin Schade has hit a purple patch of his own in recent weeks.

The German's first-half header at Portman Road was his fourth goal in his past three appearances and his 12th in all competitions in 2024-25.

Schade shot straight at Alex Palmer in the second half as Brentford sought to press home their advantage, but the visitors were a little fortunate to claim all three points after surviving heavy Ipswich pressure late on.

The woodwork came to the Bees' rescue when Omari Hutchinson's right-footed effort rattled the outside of the post, and Mark Flekken produced a smart save to deny Cameron Burgess in second-half stoppage time.

But Thomas Frank's team held on to their fourth consecutive top-flight win - their most since 1939 - and keep alive their hopes of securing a place in Europe next season.

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Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken saved all four of Ipswich's shots on target today; he has faced the most shots on target of any goalkeeper in the Premier League overall this season (192), however, just 26.6% of them have resulted in goals conceded, the best rate of any goalkeeper this term.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Ipswich's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

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Ipswich did well to fight back for a draw against Everton last week but this is a really tough game for them.

Brentford are such a dynamic team and now they have got Kevin Schade scoring as well as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, so it is going to be hard to keep them quiet.

The Bees recovered from 2-0 down to win 4-3 when they played Ipswich at home in October, with Mbeumo scoring the winner in the 96th minute.

That was a big blow for the Tractor Boys at the time, but I don't think this will be anywhere near as close. Brentford have won three games in a row, and this will make it four.

Sutton's prediction: 0-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here.

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Fulham v Everton

• Ipswich Town v Brentford

• Southampton v Manchester City - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Wolves v Brighton

• Bournemouth v Aston Villa (17:30 BST) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

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Brentford can keep hold of their key players. The reason I think they can? It is because those players, as is the case with the manager, seem like they enjoy being there.

They were brought there for a particular reason, and they have the understanding of what the club is, how they want to do things. Brentford play to the strengths of the players and allow the manager to put forward his vision for what he wants from the football club.

So, when it comes down to players leaving, I think it is more than just a case of somebody saying 'we want your player' and the player being desperate to leave because lots of players are happy to stay.

If there is a move that is available to them that changes their lives for ever, whether that is financially, structurally, to play at the highest level, for international prospects, then great. But, they are currently playing for a good football club who, come the end of the season, might be in Europe next year anyway. So it will not be as hard to keep these players as some people may think because people are motivated by different things.

The attitude of the players and the manager at Brentford is something that makes them super-competitive because they are happy to be there. Of course, nothing is perfect - no place is perfect - but the identity of the players and the manager suits the space.

I am sure Brentford do not want to hold people back should they have grand ambitions as such, but when they could be playing in Europe next season for the club they have been at for the past few years, it should not be that hard to keep hold of them.

There will be interest there in the summer, which is rightly deserved, but for the players who are having interest shown in them, they have earned the right to be able to decide if they want to stay or go.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Ipswich Town (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Frank confirmed that "everyone who was ready for Manchester United is available again", including Igor Thiago who they were "pleased" to get back out on the pitch.

• On the forward's return: "Igor is over the worst part and getting into training - now it's just about giving him the right load like with any player, whether it's a t infection, hamstring or an ankle. Now he just needs to be fit enough to compete. We pushed him a bit hard to be available for the squad because we needed him. He will not start, but he had a good week of training this week."

• On Aaron Hickey's fitness after featuring for the under-21s on Monday: "He is getting closer. He's short of being in the next squad but hopefully he can be involved in one of the last two games. Let's see. It's about building him correctly."

• Frank would like to keep Bryan Mbeumo as he wants "the best players to stay at the club", but acknowledged that Brentford are "a selling club". However, he said other clubs will need "a lot of money" to buy a player like him or fellow attacker Yoane Wissa.

• On the race for European positions: "It is a unique group of players. They are a driven and ambitious group but we all need a little extra help sometimes. To qualify for Europe is not in our hands. There are other factors that need to fall into place. We hope and we dream, but if we finish in the top 10, it would be a remarkable achievement."

• On being an established Premier League side and no longer just a "bus stop in Hounslow": "In our heart we may still be a bus stop in Hounslow, but we always need to that and have that inside of us because that keeps us grounded and humble. We always dream and want more, but always who we are."

• The Brentford boss sees the trip to Portman Road "as potentially the most difficult of the three" remaining matches as Ipswich "have been competitive in every game". Frank knows his side "need to be absolutely up for it" but is confident they will be ready.

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