Brentford

Manchester United's defensive midfielder Casemiro has been heavily scrutinised in recent weeks for mishaps, slow pace and overall lacklustre performances.

But is the Brazilian getting a hard time, or is the criticism valid?

According to Opta, the 32-year-old has been dribbled past 52 times (so far this season) by an opponent in the Premier League. That is still 17 less times than Brentford midfielder Mathias Jensen, who has recorded the most.

It is also less than top-flight stars Alexis Mac Allister, with the second highest at 62, and United captain Bruno Fernandes who rounds off the top three with 57.

He has also been beaten less than Trent Alexander-Arnold and Tottenham's Pedro Porro.

Here is the full breakdown of the top-ten:

1. Mathias Jensen (Brentford) - Dribbled past 69 times in 30 Premier League starts

2. Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool) - Dribbled past 62 times in 31 Premier League starts

3. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) - Dribbled past 57 times in 33 Premier League starts

4. Antonee Robinson (Fulham) - Dribbled past 56 times in 35 Premier League starts

5. Pedro Porro (Tottenham) - Dribbled past 54 times in 32 Premier League starts

6. Christian Norgaard (Brentford) - Dribbled past 53 times in 29 Premier League starts

7. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) - Dribbled past 53 times in 26 Premier League starts

8. Joao Gomes (Wolves) - Dribbled past 53 times in 32 Premier League starts

9. Casemiro (Manchester United) - Dribbled past 52 times in 22 Premier League starts

10. Joao Palhinha (Fulham) - Dribbled past 47 times in 31 Premier League starts

One important thing to note, however, is appearances.

Excluding Casemiro, Alexander-Arnold and Christian Norgaard, they have all made over 30 Premier League starts this season. Casemiro has made the least with 22 to date and Alexander-Arnold and Norgaard have made 26 and 29 respectively.

Therefore it highlights the difficult season the five-time Champions League winner has had under Erik ten Hag compared to last season's strong debut campaign.

As west London derbies go, Brentford’s meeting with Fulham on Saturday was one of the tamest I can remember.

With nothing to play for, neither side really got going in a hugely disappointing game, which suffered the ignominy of having its highlights shown after the Friday night game on Match of the Day.

Since the Bees’ Premier League safety was confirmed, we have not scored a goal in two matches, so hopefully we can finish the season with a flourish in our final two fixtures at Bournemouth and against Newcastle United.

It would be interesting to see Thomas Frank give some of the players who could feature more next season a chance to stake a claim now.

It is rare to have the opportunity to play competitive Premier League games with nothing much riding on them.

So it would be good if the likes of Kevin Schade and Yehor Yarmoliuk featured in the starting XI on the next two weekends.

And it would also be worth playing Neal Maupay – who did so well during the absences of Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo - before a decision on whether or not to make his loan move permanent for next season.

A lot has been made of Toney's current goal drought of 10 games.

Some are accusing him of not trying, but I wonder if he is playing with an injury.

It is of no benefit to him not to play well if he wants to make a move in the summer and play for England at the Euros.

Ian Westbrook can be found on Beesotted podcast, external

We asked for your thoughts on Saturday's goalless draw between Brentford and Fulham.

Here are some of your answers:

Chuck: This was no blood-and-guts local derby - more like a couple of neighbours at ease in each other's company at a local spring fete. The positive is the improving form of [Mikkel] Damsgaard and [Nathan] Collins - that and Going Underground by the Jam blaring out at half-time.

John: Both teams were playing as if they were on holiday. There was poor passing and a lack of passion.

Tim: Another strong showing by Damsgaard. Why he got subbed off beats me. It was a wasted opportunity to show the fans some decent football. Keeping [Ivan] Toney on the pitch when he was clearly frustrated and yelling at his teammate was pointless, and [Kevin] Schade was left on the bench for too long again.

Pete: The Bees seem to be drifting a bit. Ethan Pinnock was immense and Keane Lewis-Potter showed moments of promise, but elsewhere there was little to excite. Ivan Toney seems to have given up on a Euros spot and Bryan Mbeumo was peripheral. I suspect these two will be off soon. It's time for the new wave of young talent to be given a chance.

Uzzi: We were really flat, considering it was a derby against our most fierce Premier League rivals. We were defensively solid and Collins and Pinnock didn't give [Rodrigo] Muniz a sniff. That said, we really flattered to deceive going forward. Lewis-Potter looked sharp, but he was subbed off for whatever reason. Toney's movement was akin to what you see in Madame Tussauds. All in all, a fair result.

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Friday and Saturday's six Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer here.

And you can watch highlights of Sunday's games on Match of the Day 2 here.

Listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full:

• Burnley v Newcastle United

• Manchester City v Wolves

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford manager Thomas Frank, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Today I think there was a bit more bite without being through the roof. I think there was just a lack of quality offensively."

On whether there was a lack of motivation: "There's no lack of effort. Everyone's running around, big energy, both knew it was a local derby. There was plenty to be motivated by.

"The narrative is it's the end of the season and no-one can achieve anything. It just happens sometimes."

On whether the lack of 0-0s this season surprises him: "It surprises me it's only 11 but on the flip side it's a league that's so intense and so much quality in general so small mistakes usually get punished."

On Ivan Toney's recent performances: "There are spells for any striker where they don't score in a period of time and then they'll do it again. Ivan is a top player and he will score again soon. He's been out with injury. I think he was average last week and took a step forward this week. Both games we haven't been fantastic offensively so even when Messi was top it was very rare. The team need to click as well."

On having been at Brentford as manager for so long: "The fire is definitely there. It's a massive privilege to be in the Premier League. I never take that in any way. I think it's an achievement for Brentford. The backing and everything we do, what we create together. We want to do what we can for the last two games of the season then we go again."

Image source, Getty Images

This was a goalless draw which will not live long in the memory as Brentford's modest returns from London derbies continued.

The Bees have now picked up two points in their last seven meetings with clubs from the capital.

Thomas Frank was quick to point out "if you can't win then don't lose" in his post-match media duties and one of the positives to take from this stalemate was how "solid" Brentford looked defensively.

In attack, though, the Bees struggled to make much of an impression with Ivan Toney a peripheral figure for much of the contest.

With little to play for in their remaining two games - away to Bournemouth and home to Newcastle - it might be the time for Frank to experiment a little.

The deck chairs were not quite out against the Cottagers, but a few players did seem to be coasting at times as the look towards a break at the end of the season.

Maybe now is the right time to give a few untried youngsters a go?

• Brentford have drawn at home against Fulham for the first time in 19 matches in all competitions (W11 L7), previously doing so before today in February 1987 in the third tier (3-3).

• Brentford are unbeaten in five Premier League home games (W1 D4), keeping clean sheets in each of the last three, having conceded in 10 consecutive such matches since the start of November 2023 (22 goals conceded in total during that period).

• Fulham have kept consecutive away clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time since February 2023, having shipped 28 goals across their previous 12 matches on the road before their 2-0 victory at West Ham in April.

• This was Brentford’s eighth 0-0 draw in the Premier League, only Crystal Palace (11) and Brighton (9) have had more since the Bees were promoted to the competition in 2021-22.

• Brentford’s Ivan Toney has now gone 10 Premier League games without scoring, only in his very first 11 league matches for Northampton in 2013-14 has he gone longer without netting a league goal for a single club.

• Both sides hit the woodwork in the match, only Liverpool (24) have done so more often than Fulham (18) in the Premier League this season, while Fulham's woodwork has been hit more times than any other side (19).

Ivan Toney's struggles in front of goal continued as Brentford played out a goalless draw with Fulham.

England striker Toney registered just one shot on target - and two in total - as he drew a blank for the 10th Premier League game in succession.

Raul Jimenez had Fulham's best chance when he was picked out by Adama Traore's low cross but contrived to miss the target from close range.

Bryan Mbeumo hit the crossbar for the Bees who also had a decent shout for a penalty turned down after Yoane Wissa appeared to be bundled over by Sasa Lukic.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Brentford fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Fulham fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's matches, he takes on Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Fulham have been decent at home this season but they have become almost impossible to predict recently, while Brentford are safe now too, so it's hard to know what to expect from them either.

I am basically saying I don't have a clue what will happen here, but it is a derby and I do think there will be a few goals.

Nathan's prediction: I am going for more goals here. 2-2.

Read all of the predictions here

There are five Premier League matches taking place today and we will keep you updated on all of them.

Full commentary:

• Burnley v Newcastle, 15:00 - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Man City v Wolves, 17:30 - BBC Radio 5 Live

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Brentford manager Thomas Frank has spoken to the media before Saturday's home Premier League game with Fulham.

Here are the main lines from his news conference:

• He sees increased demand as a positive: "It's fantastic that the expectations are rising - it's always an indicator that you're doing something good. I think we always want more, we want to develop and we want to do better."

• However, he pointed out the intense difficulty of playing in the Premier League: "This league is brutal. It's the best in the world. Last year we had the lowest budget and finished ninth, which shouldn't be possible. This year it's still quite low and, if you're not top seven, you are trying to fight somewhere between eighth, ninth and 17th. In a not-good season, when you are hit by injuries, you do the minimal, which is to stay in the league."

• Despite the overall season not being "through the roof", Frank insists he has learned a lot more about his players: "There has still been good performances and it is a good foundation for us going into next season."

• He highlighted the influence of a select group of Bees: "The key players, when they’ve played, have performed well: Christian [Norgaard], Ethan [Pinnock], Mathi [Jensen] and Vitaly [Janelt], who I think has actually added an extra layer this year. For Nathan Collins’ first season, he has done well while Kristoffer Ajer and Yoane Wissa stepped forward. They are just the players off the top of my head."

• He gave a positive update on long-term absentee Rico Henry: "He's out for the season but it’s looking good that, when we start pre-season, he should be ready to join in 100 per cent, which is the main bit for me. Hopefully, he can come back fit and firing ready for next season."

• Finally, Frank praised the job done by Marco Silva and his staff, including coping with the loss of top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic: " He was such an important player for them. He scored so many goals. They started with a lot of different solutions but now it seems to be [Rodrigo] Muniz's position at only 22 years old. For them, it must be fantastic."

Follow the latest Premier League news conferences and build-up to weekend's fixtures,

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Brentford and Fulham in the Premier League.

• Brentford have won five of their past seven matches against Fulham in all competitions. They have won their past two in the Premier League against their London rivals.

• Fulham have lost six of their past seven away games against Brentford in all competitions. They won the other game 2-0 in November 2016 under Slavisa Jokanovic.

• Brentford have conceded more headed goals than any other side in the Premier League this season (19). This is also a league-high 32% of their overall goals conceded. The only team to concede more headers in a single Premier League campaign are Leeds United (20 in 1992-93).

• Fulham have won two of their past five Premier League away games. They only won one of their first 12 on the road this season. They are looking to win back-to-back away league matches for the first time since December 2022 and January 2023.

• Having netted four goals in his first five Premier League games after returning from suspension, Brentford's Ivan Toney has not scored in any of his past nine. It is his longest run without a league goal since a run of 10 with Peterborough United between February and April 2019.

• Rodrigo Muniz has scored nine Premier League goals this season and could become only the fourth player to score 10 or more goals in his debut campaign for Fulham in the competition - after Andy Cole (12 in 2004-05), Dimitar Berbatov (15 in 2012-13) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (11 in 2018-19).

Image source, Getty Images

Referees' chief Howard Webb has explained the decision not to award Brighton a penalty against Brentford during their 0-0 draw in the Premier League on 3 April.

A corner was delivered into the Bees' box and a tussle ensued between Seagulls defender Lewis Dunk and Brentford forward Yoane Wissa, before the Brighton player went down appealing for a penalty.

Initially referee Andy Madley waved the appeals away, before the video assistant referee (VAR) intervened and recommended he review the incident.

Having looked back at the full attacking sequence, he decided to stick with his on-field decision of 'no penalty', deeming Dunk to have fouled Wissa first.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Mic'd Up programme, Webb said: "It's an unusual situation. I think some people thought that the referee went to the screen and just rejected it, thinking it wasn't a penalty when the VAR did. That's not what happened.

"On every situation we check the attacking phase of play before a penalty kick or a goal, for example. And when the VAR checks the attacking phase, he can see a clear offence by Dunk on Wissa before the penalty offence.

"So the VAR then sends the referee to the screen to have a look at the full sequence, because the referee makes the final judgement on all aspects.

"The referee has gone to the screen to have a look at a full sequence and can also make a judgement on the first part of it, which is the reason why the penalty isn't given."

Despite Saturday’s disappointing defeat at Everton, there was at least satisfaction in knowing that Brentford’s Premier League place had been confirmed for another season.

We knew before kick-off at Goodison Park that Luton’s defeat at Wolves meant they could not catch us – although I said in last week’s column that everyone knew we were safe following our win at Kenilworth Road.

Now that a fourth Premier League campaign has been achieved, and having watched a lifetime of us in the bottom two divisions that still seems an amazing thing to say, we need to look ahead.

So attention must turn to what needs to happen over the summer and next season to avoid another campaign of struggle.

While it was always going to be hard to repeat last season’s ninth place, the Bees’ bid for a top-half finish was wrecked by a horrendous injury list.

Not all of the injuries were picked up in matches. Many original and recurring problems happened in training, and two players were hurt in pre-match warm-ups.

What has been concerning is not just the number but the length of injuries, which at one point left us without an entire outfield first-team and recently without our complete first-choice back four – three of whom are still out.

The club has reportedly started an investigation into the issue in a bid to prevent a repeat next season.

As always, summer transfer activity will again be key.

David Raya will complete his permanent move to Arsenal and Ivan Toney is also set to leave. The deals will net Brentford a sizeable chunk of money, some of which has already been spent on Toney’s replacement, Igor Thiago.

It will be interesting to see how the club uses the rest of it.

Ian Westbrook can be found on Beesotted podcast, external

Leicester City will have to sell players before 30 June to avoid profit and sustainability rules (PSR) charges next season, with 25-year-old English midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall attracting interest from Brentford, Brighton and Fulham. (Mail), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Image source, Getty Images

Premier League clubs have voted in favour of adopting an anchoring economic model, which will be linked to the earnings of the bottom club (tv and prize money).

The proposed system would operate like a spending cap.

The next stage is final analysis and drafting of rules, which will potentially be put to clubs at an AGM in June.

The model will be presented to clubs and - should clubs vote in favour then - it will replace the Profit and Sustainability Rules currently in place, from the 2025-26 season onwards.

Any new element of the financial system would come in shadow next season, to fully replace PSR in 2025-26.

“We will obviously wait to see further details of these specific proposals, but we have always been clear that we would oppose any measure that would place a ‘hard’ cap on player wages," said the PFA

“There is an established process in place to ensure that proposals like this, which would directly impact our members, have to be properly consulted on.”

Aston Villa, Manchester City and Manchester United opposed the vote, with Chelsea abstaining.

We asked for your views on Saturday's match between Everton and Brentford.

Here are some of your answers:

Everton fans

Lee: It wasn't a good game to watch, but it was what we needed to carry on in the Premier League. There needs to be a massive change in our identity as a team next season. If we keep the same squad and management, the same things will happen! We need a clean slate and new quality personnel.

Lucy: It wasn't the most beautiful game of football that I've ever witnessed from these boys, but I don't believe that is the most important aspect of our play at the moment. It's clear that all members of the team hold passion for our club and it makes me proud to be a member. Onwards and upwards I say - let the deductions spur us on.

Michael: We were great in defence. The need for a quality midfield and a couple of forwards is obvious. Jack Harrison is lacklustre at times and he seems to lack confidence. It's not just him, 19-year-old Youssef Chermiti needs a lot more experience as well. He makes mistakes and holds back too much. There are a couple of players that are like puppets with uncoordinated legs.

Mike: To achieve safety with three games to go, with a points deduction and this squad, is some feat. Dyche deserves immense credit because quite often the bench consists of two goalkeepers and two untried youngsters. Add to that the injuries and I doubt many managers could hold it together under the pressures he has had to deal with. He has earned the right to take us forward!

Brentford fans

Paul: We played like a team that was safe. I don't quite understand why Thomas Frank didn't start the same 11 players that beat Luton. I think Keane Lewis-Potter and Mikkel Damsgaard can count themselves very unlucky. Toney's heart isn't with the club anymore, he was poor and Wissa isn't the same player when he plays. Toney's value is dropping in every game he plays in.

Ralph: If it wasn't for Jordan Pickford, this game would have probably ended at least a draw or possibly an away win!

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch highlights of Sunday's games on Match of the Day 2 here

Listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full:

• Man Utd 1-1 Burnley

• Everton 1-0 Brentford

Blackburn Rovers want up to £20m for Republic of Ireland forward Sammie Szmodics, with Brentford, Luton Town and Sheffield United all interested in the 28-year-old. (Sun), external

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

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to BBC Sport following the game: "It is always irritating or frustrating to lose a match. That is the most difficult thing in this business.

"It was a very even match between two teams who neutralised each other. There wasn't much in it. We had the biggest chance through Ivan [Toney].

"It is very irritating that they scored from a second phase. An even game, should have been 0-0 in my opinion, a little bit boring.

"Right now, I'm just irritated we lost a match. It has been a tough season.

"It has always been our aim to finish as high as possible and be an asset to the Premier League. It is important we finish well and keep the momentum.

"As a team, we played average, not many players stood out. Our front three weren't at their best. It was a starting point for Ivan and he will be better next time."