Brentford

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With just one game left to play of the Premier League season, Brighton and Brentford retain hope of playing in Europe next season.

As things stand, at least nine English teams will feature in European competition, but certain results could make it 10. As it stands, the club finishing eighth have a chance of qualifying for the Conference League.

For this to happen, Chelsea must win this season's Conference League final against Real Betis on Wednesday.

If this does happen, then one of two scenarios would open up a Conference league spot for either Brighton or Brentford. The scenarios are:

• Chelsea finish seventh, OR

• Chelsea finish sixth AND Newcastle come seventh (this outcome would require a fairly unlikely combination of results, such as Newcastle losing 4-0 and Chelsea losing 1-0).

In summary, the best hope for teams chasing eighth is that Chelsea lose at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa avoid defeat at Manchester United. Their fate would then depend on whether Chelsea beat Real Betis in Wednesday's Conference League final

Brighton face new Europa League champions Tottenham away from home on Sunday, knowing that they only need a draw to guarantee eighth spot.

But Brentford, who travel to Wolves, have a stronger goal difference. So, if Brighton lose and Brentford win, the Bees would sneak into eighth and potentially a European spot.

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Brentford have announced Spanish sports clothing and shoe brand Joma as their new kit partner in a multi-year deal beginning in July.

The club say next season's offer will include a home shirt celebrating 100 years of the Bees wearing red and white stripes.

The new range will be made from recycled polyester and other ecological fabrics which the club say is to reduce environmental impact.

From the 2025-26 season, Brentford will be the only Premier League club to wear a kit manufactured by Joma.

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

We asked our Brentford fan contributor for their four candidates for player of the season and you can now select your top one.

Bryan Mbeumo

Bryan has had the best of his six seasons at Brentford. Ever-present, he has scored 19 goals and had eight assists and formed a telepathic partnership with close friend Yoane Wissa. Still only 25, highly coveted and with a magical left foot, sadly he may move on over the summer.

Mikkel Damsgaard

Mikkel has been a revelation this season and finally shown the superb form he displayed for Denmark in Euro 2020. His eye for spotting a and playing it is exceptional and only Mohamed Salah, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga have more than his 10 assists in the Premier League this season.

Keane Lewis-Potter

Like Damsgaard, Keane is another who is finally fulfilling his potential at Brentford. A natural winger, he has had to play at left-back this season in Rico Henry's absence and has grown into the role. His defending has improved vastly as the season has progressed, without dulling his attacking instincts.

Yoane Wissa

Yoane has again proved what we all knew - he is a good natural finisher. He has revelled in being the main man up front - scoring 18 times - and rarely misses a decent chance. Scores both spectacular and simpler goals, plays with joy and his partnership with Mbeumo is wonderful.

Pick your 2024-25 Brentford player of the season from our shortlist here

And tell us why you're picking who you are, or why you'd have gone for another player not on the list, here

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

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Wolves have nothing but pride to play for this season as they sit 14th in the table and Vitor Pereira showed he had one eye on 2025-26 as he made five changes for this game.

To their credit, they did not play like a team whose mind might be on their summer holidays and instead pushed Palace hard for their win as Jorgen Strand Larsen's second-half header gave them something to fight for, until Eberechi Eze's introduction made the win save for the hosts.

Six successive wins pulled Wolves well clear of danger earlier this year but this was a third consecutive loss. and they will be determined to not let the season finish with a losing run when they host Brentford at the weekend.

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

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What a disappointing weekend that was to be a Brentford fan.

First of all, we had to not the underdog in the FA Cup final, because of the way a Crystal Palace victory would affect our European chances, and then we lost at home to rivals Fulham.

I should say that I am genuinely pleased for a couple of Palace friends that they won the cup - despite the impact for the Bees.

Despite all that, Brentford go into the season's final weekend with our European qualification hopes still alive - just.

To make it, we need to finish eighth and then hope that Chelsea both win the Conference League and also finish outside the top five.

Whether or not we do it, what an achievement it would be if we could finish in the top half of the Premier League for the second time in four seasons.

It has been another great campaign, filled with some cracking football, exciting matches and plenty of goals. For both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa to score 19 is some feat.

It is also great to be going into Sunday's final match with something to play for.

Finally, a quick word about Ben Mee, who will be leaving us in the summer.

He was superb in his first season with us in 2022-23 - when he only missed one Premier League game - helping us to finish ninth. He was also voted ers' player of the year.

But he has been used sparingly in the past two years, so, as he is out of contract, he deserves to go somewhere where he will play regularly again - and I am sure he will have plenty of offers.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

Image source, PA Media

We asked for your thoughts after the Premier League game between Brentford and Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Nicholas: A strange game really. We were well on top in the first half and it should have been a more comfortable scoreline at half-time. But Fulham's substitutes made the difference and it is beyond annoying that they have done the double over us. Still, it's been a fantastic season and there is plenty to be optimistic about heading into next year.

Paul: While it's been a good season, points dropped from winning positions cost us, and you have to say some of Thomas Frank's substitutions over the course of the campaign have been very strange.

Fulham fans

James: Unbelievable performance! We completely deserved the three points after two great headers from Jimenez and Tom Cairney, and Harry Wilson finished it off with a wonderful strike. Also what a penalty save from Leno!

Terry: Great to see us really commit to every challenge, really commit to the win. It had to be Harry! He's a wizard, don't you know?

Will: What a beautiful win. Seemed as if all desire was gone from this team but they really showed up for this one. We wouldn't have got Europe anyway with the FA Cup result, so this is definitely a good end to the season.

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's five Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

Saturday 17th May

FA Cup final: Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City - 5 LIVE

Sunday 18th May

West Ham 1-2 Nottingham Forest - 5 LIVE

Brentford 2-3 Fulham – SPORTS EXTRA 2

Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle - 5 LIVE

Manchester United have made an offer of 65m euros (£54m) for Brentford's Cameroon striker Bryan Mbeumo, 25, who has a year left on his current contract. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Matthew Howarth
BBC Sport journalist

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In-form Brentford had looked set to five consecutive top-flight victories for the first time since 1939 after Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa had struck their 19th Premier League goals of the campaign to give the Bees a 2-1 half-time lead against neighbours Fulham.

But Thomas Frank's side faded as an attacking force after the restart, failing to another attempt at goal until the 74th minute, by which time the Cottagers had struck twice in two minutes to go 3-2 ahead.

The closest Brentford came to restoring parity was when Christian Norgaard's 86th-minute header was tipped over the crossbar by Bernd Leno, who had crucially denied Mbeumo from the spot in the first half.

The Cameroonian had scored his previous 11 penalties for the Bees, but Leno dived the right way to keep out the forward's latest effort.

Only Manchester City, Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool have scored more goals than Brentford this season, but their defensive record on home soil leaves a lot to be desired.

Relegated Southampton and Ipswich are the only sides to concede more than their 35 in front of their own ers this season – the most Brentford have shipped at home in the top flight since 1946-47.

Frank's men must now beat Wolves away on the final day of the season and hope other results go their way to stand any chance of sneaking into Europe.

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Thomas Frank spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Brentford's defeat against Fulham: "I think we played well in the first half we were on top. We could have been out of sight. Missed a penalty and created other good situations and a lot of chances. It's very even in the second half, it's not a half we should lose 2-0 but we did.

"It's the Premier League, it's the small bits that decide football matches. We deserved more. I will say that I'm a strong believer that if we play that game again then we would win it.

"You're too invested in it to stand and smile but inside you're burning. I hate losing. We can still finish eighth - that would be our highest in the Premier League. We have two players on 19 goals. So many positives. We need a little bit of help from Liverpool against Brighton.

"It's not the Gtech, it's the goal tech now!

"Everything is on. We will go into the last game of the season. Even if we finish top 10 then it is an unbelievable performance from this club and this team. We will do all we can to win at Wolves.

"Of course I am committed. We've just lost to Fulham, our local rivals. I am fuming."

Were you at the game or watching from elsewhere?

Have your say on Brentford's performance

How well do you think Fulham played?

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

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

• Everton v Southampton (12:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• West Ham v Nottingham Forest (14:15)

• Brentford v Fulham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Leicester v Ipswich

• Arsenal v Newcastle (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Before this season, Crystal Palace's victory at Wembley would have tidied up the European qualification position within the Premier League.

However, England gaining a coveted European Performance Spot has added a layer of complication, which is why Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth and Fulham fans should not give up hope of a Conference League place just yet.

Here is why.

Ordinarily, England gets four Champions League places, two in the Europa League, for the FA Cup winners and the fifth placed team and one in the Conference League for the Carabao Cup winners.

So far, so straightforward.

If the Carabao Cup winners qualify for one of the higher ranking European competitions, the Conference League spot goes to the next team down in the Premier League.

Just as Manchester United or Tottenham will qualify for the Champions League because one of them will win the Europa League after finishing outside the Champions League places, the same is also true for Chelsea if they win the Conference League and finish outside the Europa League places.

Still with me?

The complication comes through EPS. So, while fifth now gets you into the Champions League and sixth into the Europa League, for the purposes of competition qualification, the EPS situation doesn't count.

So, if Chelsea finish sixth and win the Conference League, without EPS, they would already be in the Conference League berth, so they go into the Europa League as Conference League winners and England would not take its Conference League place. With EPS added, instead of the sixth-placed team (Chelsea) qualifying for the Europa League through their league placing, because they are already in, the seventh-placed team benefits. So that would be three English teams in the Europa League and none in the Conference League.

By the same process, if Chelsea finish seventh and win the Conference League, without EPS, they would qualify for the Europa League despite being outside the European places, meaning three English teams in the Europa League – Chelsea, Palace and the fifth placed team – and one – the sixth-placed team – in the Conference League. With EPS added, everything drops down a place BUT as Chelsea are already in the Europa League, instead of the Conference League spot going to them after finishing seventh, it goes to the eighth placed team.

In other words, the teams battling for eighth need Chelsea to win the Conference League and to finish seventh.

I am looking at every game this week as the one that could make or break my chances of defending my predictions title but, whatever I say here, I know I'll be wrong because I've found Fulham almost impossible to call all season.

I was actually spot on with my prediction when they beat Brentford 2-1 in November, but only because Harry Wilson scored two injury-time goals.

On form, the Bees are favourites here after winning their past four games, but Fulham have the ability to beat anyone, and they also usually do the opposite of what I think.

Maybe I am best off going with a draw, because the opposite of that is still a draw.

On top of that, I think everyone else will go for a home win so this could be the result that makes the difference for me - I need it to, because my title is on the line after two successive seasons where I have triumphed.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Earlier, we asked you to identify the current Brentford player.

The answer is Michael Kayode, who is on loan from Fiorentina.

Image source, Getty Images

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