Can Cherries or Brentford win a ticket to Europe?

Having bowed out of the FA Cup in the third round, Bournemouth's fans would have been able to watch the weekend's fifth-round ties dispassionately.

While the Cherries' third-round conquerors Newcastle were dispatched by Manchester City – as Bournemouth themselves were in last season's quarter-finals – eyes may have been drawn to Monday's game between West Ham and Brentford, the teams who had knocked the Cherries out of the EFL Cup in the past two seasons.

And it was winger Dango Ouattara, who became Brentford's record signing when they paid Bournemouth £42m for him last summer, under the spotlight after seeing his 'Panenka' penalty saved as the Bees bowed out.

"What was he thinking?" was the common reaction. Well, Bournemouth's followers would have known it was not Dango's first rodeo. The Burkina Faso international scored with a Panenka in a penalty shootout after a Cherries pre-season friendly against Arsenal in California in July 2024.

Ouattara was also successful from 12 yards in last season's FA Cup fifth round as the Cherries overcame Wolves. This time, his technique involved not taking a run-up. Unorthodox, but two out of two scored in Bournemouth's colours.

And while overhauling any of the current top six may prove too tall an order for Andoni Iraola's side in their final nine league games, Brentford – in seventh place, four points above the Cherries – will firmly be in their sights.

Battles with Brentford are nothing new. Only Brighton (114) have faced the Cherries more times in league football than Brentford (110), and when cup games are taken into account, the Bees are now Bournemouth's most frequent opponents in competitive football, with 125 games overall – although older supporters on both sides are probably still pinching themselves that it is now a regular Premier League fixture, after years spent in the lower divisions.

What Brentford and Bournemouth will be aware of, however, is that every point is crucial when the final Premier League table is concerned – and not just because of the merit-based financial bonuses that come with each place.

With England still on course to earn a fifth Champions League place, while the two EFL Cup finalists and four of the eight remaining FA Cup contenders reside in the top six, the chance for clubs like Brentford or Bournemouth to win a ticket to Europe has never been greater.