Brentford

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League home game against Manchester United (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Frank has confirmed the players are "all fit" and said "it's all about recovery" after the win at Nottingham Forest. However, he insisted the Bees will be "ready to attack again".

• On the brilliance of Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo: "It's been a big privilege to be involved in their development and partnership. Biggest credit to the two players. The way they have developed so far, why not more? No-one knows what their ceiling is. It is my job to maximum the team's potential."

• Frank also highlighted the importance of the defence and not just the attack. He said it is a "key focus area" and they noticed "the improvement" that was needed to the defence at the start of the season.

• On Manchester United: "They are a team that is very structured. They defend very well and they know what they want to do, offensively and defensively. Also, their form in Europe shows their potential. It's Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, and they'll put a very competitive team out there."

• Frank refuted claims the Premier League has not been difficult this season and stated that it is "so competitive" and praised the division for not having a "top six", with more teams competing for the top spots.

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Listen to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary of Brentford v Man Utd at 14:00 on Sunday

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We asked for your thoughts on Thursday's Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Nottingham Forest fans:

Fosi: Yet another abysmal performance. No fight, no passion and no idea. Is our season over?

Freddy: Huge disappointment at the result. I'd hoped that bowing out of the FA Cup would galvanise the players, but the opposite seems to have happened. They looked tired and devoid of ideas. I just hope an easier run of games will get us over the line - Chelsea last game of the season seems huge now.

Ken: It's over I'm afraid. Those players are exhausted and have no more to give. It was like watching us two seasons ago. The very thing that has been our rock - defence - is falling apart at exactly the wrong time. Our failure to sign one or two strikers has well and truly scuppered us.

John: We're on a bad run at at a bad time. I don't care one way or the other about Europe, except that we've got some players I wouldn't want to lose to clubs who get there. We're good enough to put this right but we're running out of games.

Brentford fans:

Mel: Dare we dream about Europe? Yet another top performance against a top six team. Incredible team spirit and winning mentality continues to deliver exceptional performances. Our run in looks favourable when compared to others, and a result against Manchester United keeps a European dream alive.

Tim: The Bees showing their teeth and battling for the points was a pleasant surprise. Michael Kayode blunted Forest's game plan by matching them for pace. Great to see Kevin Schade poke that ball home, the guy needs a bit of confidence to bring out his best.

David: Brentford controlled the game and executed their chances with confidence and precision. The travelling fans must have been planning their European tour on the way home. Another masterclass from Thomas Frank.

Josh: We are making a last minute surge for Europe. We couldn't do it could we? Don't stop believing!

Newcastle are interested in Brentford and Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo, 25, but are concerned by his £60m price tag. (Telegraph - subscription required, external)

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

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Bobbie Jackson
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

After a 12-day break, Brentford must have been itching to get back on a pitch and attempt to boost their hopes of securing a European berth.

As soon as the whistle blew at the City Ground, the Bees were up and at it - taking the game to Nottingham Forest and searching for the perfect start.

They almost got their reward after 17 minutes when Sepp van den Berg's header was palmed away by Matz Sels.

Brentford continued to push and finally got their noses in front on the stroke of half-time with Kevin Schade evading his marker and prodding in from close range.

Thomas Frank's side did have to weather a storm early in the second period - it wasn't just the torrential rain - as Forest came out with a spring in their step.

However, Anthony Elanga was the only player to seriously call Mark Flekken into action, with the goalkeeper getting down to his left and tipping a curling shot wide.

Flekken went on to have an impact in the decisive goal with his long ball teeing up Yoane Wissa, who chipped beyond a despairing Sels.

Despite picking up the win, Brentford remain 11th but they are just two points adrift of eighth-placed Fulham after extending their unbeaten run to four games for the first time this season.

Brentford have never finished higher than ninth in the Premier League and could surpass that achievement as they push for Europe.

Image source, Getty Images

Thomas Frank spoke to BBC Match of the Day after beating Nottingham Forest at the City Ground: "It was a good away performance. Very solid. I think it is a big strength that we go to a difficult place against a team who have been fantastic all season.

"It was only seven out of 10 in my opinion. We were very strong defensively and gave little away. We should have kept the ball better in the second half. Credit to the boys.

"We had more possession and we went 1-0 up, then 2-0. Naturally they pressed us more. We knew the counters, we had to be very good and close down those situations. We needed to be good enough to play behind them.

"I think everything is possible. There are four games left. We'll try our best to win them."

Did you know?

• Brentford have won six of their past eight Premier League away games) as many as in their previous 30 on the road beforehand. The Bees have more away points in the competition in 2025 than any other side (19).

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford's Nathan Collins spoke to Sky Sports after setting up Kevin Schade's opening goal in the 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest: "We want an exceptional season. We are not happy sitting around and floating about. We want to do something.

"We're lucky with the quality that we have upfront. They can take it to feet or go in behind and teams can't deal with these guys."

On the clean sheet: "Massive. Something that we can build on. To come here and keep a clean sheet against this team - they have been unbelievable this season.

"We need to keep doing it and we need to keep going."

On Brentford's European hopes: "Fans today come up on a Thursday - unbelievable. They were class and they got the reward from us.

"Four cup finals to go and we start on Sunday - it is a big match."

Did you know?

• Mark Flekken's assist for Yoane Wissa's goal for Brentford was the ninth time a goalkeeper has assisted a Premier League goal in 2024-25, the most in a single season in the competition.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Nottingham Forest's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

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

This is a tough game for Nottingham Forest to bounce back in after the disappointment of losing their FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Forest did play well in the second-half against Manchester City, but the challenge for them here is to reach that level again. They need a win for their top-five hopes, and they will have to play well to get it.

Brentford are always dangerous and their form has picked up over the past couple of weeks, but as a boyhood Forest fan I am going with my heart over my head with this one.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

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Brentford have the highest shot conversion rate of any side in the Premier League this season (14.8%).

Alex Fletcher
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Premier League game at Nottingham Forest (kick-off 19:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On team news: "Everyone is available from the last game. Aaron Hickey and Igor Thiago are both training fully with the team now, for the past two training sessions, which is positive. They're not ready for Nottingham Forest - but it's positive."

• Frank agreed that the "timing was right" for Vitaly Janelt to have heel surgery, adding: "He's a key player, a key character and and hopefully it will get him back early next season."

• On the race for Europe: "It's close, it's tight. There are three teams ahead of us right now, so we need to have the perfect run-in. If that means [we qualify for] Europe, that would be fantastic."

• Even with Europe in their sights, Frank says a second top-half finish would be a "remarkable achievement".

• On Nottingham Forest: "We have a very difficult game against Nottingham Forest on Thursday night, Nuno [Espirito Santo] and his players have done a remarkable job. They play a style of football that is very difficult to play against and is proving to be very efficient."

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Image source, Getty Images

Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt will miss the rest of the campaign after an operation on a heel injury.

A statement on the club's website said it is a problem that has been "carefully managed throughout the season".

No specific timeframe has been put on a return for Janelt - who has featured in all but one Premier League game so far - with the Bees saying he has "the aim of returning to full fitness early next term".

Alex Fletcher
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Premier League game against Brentford (kick-off 19:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Ola Aina could return to the squad but will undergo "one more day of assessment" before a decision is made on his fitness.

• On the mood after Sunday's FA Cup semi-final defeat: "The disappointment is the same as losing a game in the Premier League, but we must now react. It is just like in life, you grieve and then you react. If you fall down then you get back up and go again."

• An "emotional" Nuno thanked Forest fans for their support at Wembley adding that "the red sea was something special for all of us" and that the players "need them [the fans] now more than ever".

• He said that his side would "never stop believing" that they will qualify for the Champions League but it is now up to them "to perform".

• On opponents Brentford: "They are a very good team who have challenged well. They are good from set pieces and play nice football so we will have to be at our best."

• On the match: "All the games will be important in this fight and we have one game more. We are back at the City Ground in-front of our own fans and that is a big help."

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Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

This summer could be a big one for Brentford, regardless of whether or not we manage to grab a place in Europe for next season.

Five long-serving members of the squad will be entering the final year of their contracts, and although the club has a year's option on Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Rico Henry, the deals of Vitaly Janelt and Mathias Jensen completely expire in 14 months' time.

It is unusual for the Bees to be in a position like this. I can't remember any recent season when so many key players could potentially walk away at the same time.

All five of them, when fit, have been mainstays in our team for years - with all but Wissa joining us in the Championship. Losing a few of this group would be a massive moment in our evolution.

I am quite sentimental when it comes to long-serving players and would like all of them to extend their stays - but football doesn't always work like that.

While Mbeumo and Wissa are still first choice, Jensen has found it hard to force his way back into the starting line-up - ahead of the vastly improved Mikkel Damsgaard - since his recent recovery from injury and Yehor Yarmoliuk has started to be chosen ahead of Janelt sometimes.

Henry has only just regained fitness following almost 18 months of injury and may find it hard to oust Keane Lewis-Potter, who has had an outstanding season covering for him at left-back.

With Ben Mee and Josh Dasilva out of contract this summer, and Michael Kayode's loan coming to an end then too, director of football Phil Giles and his team are going to be busy!

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Image source, Getty Images

We asked you to tell us one thing - good or bad - that is currently going under the radar at Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Joe: Keane Lewis-Potter - he struggled to make an impact in his first few seasons but he has really stepped up as a left wing-back this season. Given he was signed as an attacker, his transition to a more defensive role has been surprisingly strong. He is now one of the first names on the teamsheet and he is playing well. Nobody outside Brentford seems to be aware of this though, with all the attention (for good reason) on Mbeumo and Wissa. I think it's time KLP was shown some of the same love.

Cam: What a great job Thomas Frank has done in transforming Keane Lewis-Potter from a striker/winger to a full-back - and how he has made the position his own this season.

Evan: Keano has had a fantastic transformation into a right-back. I can see him ripping defences apart for many years, especially with someone like Marcus Rashford as the central attacker at the Gtech.

Ian: Pundits predicted that Brentford would struggle without Ivan Toney. However, Mbeumo and Wissa are creating their own Brentford history. With five games still to play, both of the above names could reach or surpass the 20-goal mark for the season. It proves that Brentford's recruitment over recent years has found two more proven goalscorers.

Chris: Losing both Mbeumo and Wissa at the same time is becoming ever more worrying. We know Mbeumo will most likely leave us, but to lose Wissa at the same time is too awful to think about. But, whatever happens, breaking up this amazing partnership will be a sad day for both us and the two best friends.

Andy: The article a couple of weeks ago about goalkeeper rankings omitted to mention that Brentford have one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, once again demonstrating the club's ability to have a succession plan when selling our best players to big clubs. Being a 'selling club' is one thing, but being consistently good at it is quite another!

A dramatic game against Brighton on Saturday showcased - again - the fantastic Bees partnership of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa.

But you know your club best, so give us a peek behind the curtain and tell us the one thing no-one is talking about at Brentford but really should be.

Let us know here

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Brentford FC

As a club that prides itself on its relationship with fans and the community, knowing sustainability is "important" to supporters has been a real driver for Brentford to take action.

The impact of climate change is being felt in many different ways and football is not immune to these.

Previous research, external has suggested one in four professional football pitches will be at risk from flooding in 25 years.

While so much of fans' focus is what is happening on the pitch, there is an increasing expectation from supporters that clubs should be doing more to reduce their impact off it.

In the second part of our Earth Day chat with James Beale, Brentford's sustainability manager highlighted how engaging fans in the journey is such a key element of their sustainability programme.

"We have a sustainability working group with the fans. Our official supporters' groups sit on that, but we also have an independent group of fans with knowledge and concern for the environmental crisis called the Sustaina-Bees, who are great and sit on the group too," Beale explained to BBC Sport.

"We meet regularly. We talk about things that the club are up to on sustainability. We talk about their concerns.

"Last year, we did a survey on our fans. We published the outcomes of that in our sustainability report and they rated sustainability 8.1 out of 10 in terms of importance, so we know it's important to them."

Alongside their discounted rail travel for fans travelling to away games, the Bees have also recently announced their Bike To Brentford scheme.

Supporters who cycle to the team's Premier League fixture against Manchester United on 4 May will receive a free food and drink voucher to use at the ground.

With fan travel being one of Brentford's biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, alongside helping supporters both physically and financially, schemes like these can help in reducing the environmental impact of matchdays.

"We're making it easier and safer for fans to cycle to games this spring," Beale said.

"We're putting up temporary bike parks around the stadium. We're rewarding fans for cycling to games. It is a trial right now but we're going to use that to build on for next season, take some learnings and work out how we can continue the project."

With fans clearly an integral part of Brentford's sustainability ambitions, what message does Beale have for supporters?

"Come with us. We're really keen to collaborate as much as possible on both helping the club become more sustainable, but also helping the local community become more sustainable.

"We can't do that alone. The fans' views, opinions and influence are really important, and we want to work with them on this."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Brentford FC

Brentford know they have a "responsibility" to protect the environment and communities, but are "excited" for the journey ahead.

The Bees' approach to sustainability comes under five key pillars - governance, climate, waste and circularity, nature and engagement.

Since the introduction of the strategy, the club have been making progress and introducing initiatives in all areas.

This has included discounted train travel for fans travelling to away matches, releasing a new home kit bi-annually, planting an orchard locally and a community garden outside the stadium.

"Sustainability is becoming more important for football clubs, and for all organisations," Brentford sustainability manager James Beale told BBC Sport.

"A couple of years ago, the club developed our sustainability strategy and one of the outcomes from it was that we realised it's a huge topic - it's important,"

"Everyone's got a responsibility for sustainability. We recognise the platform that we have as a Premier League club. We also understand the influence that we have in helping our fans become more sustainable.

"As a club, we like to focus on the community. Our stadium is called The Gtech Community Stadium, and we know we have a very local fan base. We want to make sure that they have an environment to thrive in now and for future generations."

Tuesday, 22 April marks Earth Day - a day in the international calendar that provides the opportunity to reflect on progress and understand future opportunities to be more sustainable.

At the end of last season, Brentford released their first sustainability report, external. It brought together their sustainability work into one place and allowed the club to transparently communicate their progress to supporters.

However, it also acknowledged how this is just the beginning, and they plan on going further in all five of their key pillars.

"We are doing lots, but there's always more to be done," Beale added.

"It's a journey and this is early days. We're excited about how we can build on our work so far.

"I think there's a fine balance to be struck between recognising the significance of the issue and giving it the attention it deserves, but also building this into our normal everyday actions and not making it this big, scary thing for fans and something they can't deal with."

Come back later on Tuesday for more on Brentford's sustainability journey

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It has been a long wait, but Brentford finally picked up three points at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday for the first time since beating Newcastle United in early December - nine matches ago.

It stretched our current run to two defeats in nine matches and continued our strong finish to the campaign.

Beating Brighton also revived talk of a late push to finish in the European places, although I still think that is unlikely.

Stars of the show once again were strike duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, who shared three goals and two assists between them.

The pair have 34 Premier League goals this season, with Mbeumo on 18 and Wissa on 16.

A large part of their partnership is an understanding formed by the experience of nearly three seasons playing together and a close friendship off the pitch.

They apparently live next door to each other and you can see their closeness when you watch them play.

Each instinctively knows where the other is, or will be, as moves build up - a telepathy which has led to several of their goals.

You can also see when they celebrate goals together just what they think of each other.

It will be interesting to see if they get separated in the summer with speculation already starting about their futures. Each has a contract running to 2026, with a one-year club option.

While sadly it seems likely Mbeumo will go, as we have to sell one player each summer to balance the books, I honestly cannot see us letting both of them leave, unless we get offered silly money.

I am sure each can be effective without the other, but it would be sad to see this magical partnership broken up.

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