Preview
Nottingham Forest will travel to Brentford in search of their second consecutive win in the Premier League to keep themselves out of the relegation zone.
Brentford got back to winning ways during mid-week with a 2-0 triumph over Chelsea and will hope that result was the start of another good winning streak, which at this point is a necessity for their European football bid.
With both sides still fighting for something important, we are expecting an electrifying atmosphere in the stands as well as on the pitch at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Last 5 games
Both sides are heading into the game with wins, and possess a similar form in their last five games.
Brentford found their mojo back at Stamford Bridge (who doesn’t, these days?) through goals from Cesar Azpilicueta (own) and Bryan Mbeumo, and registered their first win in the last seven league games.
Forest stunned in-form Brighton 3-1 to put a pause on their losing run which stretched back to the start of the month. The Reds were also gifted an own-goal before Danilo and Morgan Gibbs-White added two more goals to make Facundo Buonanotte’s 38th-minute opener redundant.
At their own home, Brentford are a totally different team this season, having lost just one of their last 12 league fixtures. Steve Cooper’s men, meanwhile, have managed the fewest points on the road this season.
Brentford: 9th
Win: 2-0 vs Chelsea
Draw: 1-1 vs Aston Villa
Loss: 0-2 vs Wolves
Loss: 1-2 vs Newcastle
Loss: 0-1 vs Manchester United
Nottingham Forest: 17th
Win: 3-1 vs Brighton and Hove Albion
Loss: 2-3 vs Liverpool
Loss: 0-2 vs Manchester United
Loss: 0-2 Aston Villa
Loss: 1-2 vs Leeds
Head to Head
The last meeting between the two sides was a thrilling affair, decided by an own-goal from Mathias Jorgensen in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Bryan Mbeumo equalised from the spot just before the break after Gibbs-White beat three Brentford defenders to curl home a go-ahead goal in the 20th minute. It was also the Englishman’s first goal for his new team. Yoane Wissa put the Bees ahead in the 75th minute with a cool finish before the ball ricocheted off Brentford’s midfielder and past the goalkeeper to level the scoreline 2-2 seconds before the referee blew the final whistle.
The November clash was Brentford’s first Premier League game against Forest. If the Championship results are considered, there’s little to separate the two sides. In the previous four games in England’s second tier, Forest won twice, Brentford took the cake once, and they shook hands at 1-1 in their last game before Brentford sealed the promotion to the Premier League.
Team News
Both Pontus Jansson (hamstring) and Keane Lewis-Potter (knee) are expected to miss this game as well as the rest of the fixtures this season for Brentford. Christian Norgaard and second-choice goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha also remain unavailable.
Full-back Serge Aurier returned against Brighton during mid-week and should be available to start over the weekend in a big boost for a side struggling with perhaps the longest causality list in the league. Chris Wood, Scott McKenna, Willy Boly, Giulian Biancone, Jack Colback, Ryan Yates, and Dean Henderson are all unavailable. The clash against Brighton also saw Moussa Niakhate and Neco Williams join the list of absentees.
Predicted Lineups
Brentford: 5-3-2
Goalkeeper – Raya
Defenders – Roerslev, Jorgensen, Pinnock, Mee, Henry
Midfielders – Jensen, Onyeka, Janelt
Forwards – Toney, Wissa
Nottingham: 3-4-2-1
Goalkeeper – Navas
Defender – Aurier, Felipe, Niakhate
Midfielders – Williams (Fb), Mangala, Danilo, Lodi (Fb)
Forwards – Johnson (10), Gibbs-White (10), Awoniyi
Where Will The Game Be Decided?
Gibbs-White has been Cooper’s most in-form star lately, having been involved in three goals in his last two league appearances. He’s likely to give the Bees the hardest time among the travelling Reds.
But a lot will depend on how PSG loanee Navas performs, with Brentford – being the dominant home side throughout the season – expected to enjoy a larger share of time than the visitors in the final third.
The majority of the Bees’ attack goes through Ivan Toney. As such, it’ll be important for centre-back Felipe to closely mark the Englishman and not get done physically. If Toney, who has scored two goals in his two league games against Forest, is offered space and time, his link-up with Wissa will prove devastating for the visitors.
Forest’s best moments going forward have come as a result of the pace of Gibbs-White and Johnson on the counter – something Thomas Frank’s midfield will have to put a stop to in its infancy to increase their chances of keeping a clean sheet.
Predictions
Brentford have enjoyed two wins in two home games against the promoted sides so far this season and should prove too strong for another inferior opponent in London. Brentford 2-0 Nottingham.
Kick-off Time
The kickoff is at 14:00 GMT Saturday at Gtech Community Stadium.
