Brentford took another step toward qualifying for Europe for the first time in club history on Saturday, as Kevin Schade scored the game’s only goal and the Bees escaped Portman Road with a 1-0 victory over relegated Ipswich.
WATCH — Ipswich v Brentford full match replay
Schade headed home Bryan Mbeumo’s corner kick in the 18th minute to take his tally to 11 league goals on the season, and Brentford (55 points) are now, at least for the time being, up to 8th in the Premier League table (Bournemouth play later on Saturday, at home against 7th-place Aston Villa). If Manchester City win the FA Cup next weekend, 8th place in the PL will become a Europa Conference League place next season. If Crystal Palace triumph at Wembley, it will go to the Eagles, who currently sit 12th.
It wasn’t all straightforward for Brentford on Saturday, though, as Ipswich looked certain to equalize on a number of occasions in the final 15-20 minutes, but another man-of-the-match showing by goalkeeper Mark Flekken and some wasteful finishing by the Tractor Boys was just enough for Thomas Frank’s side to make it four straight wins (six unbeaten) at the most important time of the season.
Four straight wins in the top flight for the first time since 1939 💪💪
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) May 10, 2025
Busy, busy Bees
(Bryan Mbeumo - Yoane Wissa - Kevin Schade)
Brentford are one of just three clubs in the top five European leagues with three 10-plus goalscorers (Barcelona and Bayern Munich are the others — not half-bad company). Those up there are their passing numbers on the season — Schade’s in particular are comically low. Even compared to other forwards, they do almost no passing of the ball, yet little ole Brentford have scored the 6th-most goals (63 in 36 games) in the best league in the world. How do they do it? Think “dump and chase” in hockey, if you’re familiar (even if you’re not, it’s pretty self-explanatory — get the ball forward to your best players quickly, nothing fancy about it, and have a go). And set pieces, lots of set pieces. With Mbeumo and Wissa likely leaving this summer, it will be fascinating to see how Frank rebuilds the attack — again, as if he hasn’t done so on a number of occasions since arriving in 2018. Right now, it looks like the Bees will be a more physical, aerial attacking side next season with Schade and club-record signing Igor Thiago (plus whoever else they sign) making up the new attacking nucleus in 2025-26. Spoiler alert: Whatever Frank cooks up, it’ll probably work.
Player ratings - Ipswich vs Brentford
What’s next?
- Brentford vs Fulham — Sunday, 10 am ET
- Leicester vs Ipswich — Sunday, 10 am ET
Ipswich vs Brentford live updates - by Andy Edwards
Ipswich vs Brentford final score: 0-1
Goalscorers: Kevin Schade (19')
GOAL! Ipswich 0-1 Brentford: Schade scores a looping header from a corner kick (19')
Ipswich starting lineup
Palmer - Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Greaves - Morsy, Taylor, Chaplin - Hutchinson, Enciso, Delap
Brentford starting lineup
Flekken - Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter - Norgaard, Yarmolyuk, Damsgaard - Mbeumo, Schade, Wissa
How to watch Ipswich vs Brentford live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (May 10)
Venue: Portman Road — Ipswich
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
Kieran McKenna’s side has given it a good go in the Premier League but they have won once since December 30 as a single victory in 16 games in 2025 has doomed them to relegation straight back to the Championship. Still, they have some promising players and the likes of Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson will surely be playing in the Premier League next season. The Tractor Boys did fight back from 2-0 down at Everton last weekend to draw 2-2 as they’re enjoying their final few weeks in the big time.
Brentford will be hoping to play in Europe next season, as Thomas Frank’s side are on a roll with three-straight wins. They are right in the scrap for eighth place which is very likely to be a UEFA Conference League spot and that would be a great competition for the Bees to go far in. They beat Manchester United 4-3 last weekend and the scoreline flattered United. Brentford’s front three of Mbeumo, Wissa and Schade are such a handful and they’re finishing the season so strong with European qualification tantalizingly within reach.
Ipswich team news, focus
There are plenty of key players missing for Ipswich through injury and that has been a common theme throughout the season. If they had stayed fully fit, could they have stayed up? It probably would have been very close. Liam Delap is such a handful and loves leading the line and running in-behind.
OUT: Conor Townsend (thigh), Leif Davis (suspension), Jaden Philogene-Bidace (knee), Arijanet Muric (shoulder), Sammi Szmodics (ankle), Wes Burns (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (achilles - out for season) | QUESTIONABLE: Nathan Broadhead (thigh), Axel Tuanzebe (thigh)
Brentford team news, focus
Brentford’s injury issues have really calmed down in recent weeks and that has been a key factor in this run of wins. They are solid and so dangerous from crosses and the forward trio of Schade, Mbeumo and Wissa have put their foot on the accelerator and have all hit double figures in terms of goals.
OUT: Vitaly Janelt (ankle), Fabio Carvalho (shoulder), Josh Dasilva (knee) | QUESTiONABLE: Aaron Hickey (thigh)
Ipswich vs Brentford prediction
This should be a great game and Ipswich will create chances as the pressure is off. It feels like Brentford will cause plenty of problems in the second half and drag Ipswich all over the place. Go for an away win in a thriller. Ipswich 2-3 Brentford.
