Nottingham Forest will host Brentford at the City Ground in the Premier League on Sunday, with only one point separating the two teams in the table.
With only one point and one position in the Premier League table separating these clubs heading into the weekend, both Nottingham Forest and Brentford will be looking to return to winning ways and leap into the top half of the table when they square off at the City Ground on Sunday.
Nottingham Forest, who were not in action midweek having already been knocked out of the Carabao Cup, have made a strong enough start to the campaign, picking up wins over Sheffield United and Chelsea, losing away to Arsenal and Manchester United as expected, and drawing with Burnley.
The hosts come into this encounter off the back of a 2-0 defeat to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City last weekend. And back on home turf, they will be looking to get back on track when Brentford come to town.
Thomas Frank’s side, meanwhile, were turned over 3-1 at home to a struggling Everton side last weekend, a result that means the visitors have earned three points from just one of their opening six top-flight games this season.
The London club will also have been disappointed to crash out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night courtesy of a 1-0 defeat at home to a rotated Arsenal side. It is certainly too early for any sort of alarm bells to set in. But the Bees need to get buzzing again before it’s too late and they become embroiled in a relegation scrap.
Team News and Tactics
Nottingham Forest
Friday focus 🔒 pic.twitter.com/HhAv9NRuxo
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) September 29, 2023
Steve Cooper has a nearly fully-fit squad to pick from, except Brazilian Danilo (hamstring) and Felipe (knee), who have both been ruled out for this fixture. Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares, who was substituted 40 minutes into his full debut last week due to a groin problem, will be assessed late before the game.
Cooper’s men can hold their heads high following their loss at the Etihad, as it had the potential to be a heavy thumping when they went 2-0 down inside a quarter of an hour. However, they stood firm and did not allow Manchester City to extend the score, albeit helped by the Rodri red card.
Cooper is expected to go ahead with the 4-2-3-1 formation. USMNT international Matt Turner will be in goal. The back four will feature Serge Aurier, Joe Worrall, Moussa Niakhate, and Ola Aina. Star summer signing Ibrahim Sangare will pair up with Ryan Yates in the centre of the park.
Attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White is crucial to their transitional style of play thanks to his speed and direct running. He carries his team up the pitch and helps to relieve pressure on the defence when needed. However, Gibbs-White’s numbers at the start of this season are not particularly impressive, with no goals and only one assist so far.
Playing in front of the home crowd, Sunday could be a perfect opportunity for the England Under-21 international to open his account for the season. Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga, and Nicolas Dominguez will be battling it out for the two wide spots on either side of main striker Taiwo Awoniyi.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Turner; Aurier, Worrall, Niakhate, Aina; Sangare, Yates; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Awoniyi
Brentford
Ivan Toney is unavailable to feature for Brentford until the middle of January, but that has not kept him out of the headlines. The Brentford striker, who is serving a ban for breaching the FA’s betting rules, has been strongly linked with a move away from the club. The latest reports suggest Arsenal are interested.
Thomas Frank himself has admitted that the Bees are ready to listen to offers for their talismanic striker. But they will no doubt want to keep hold of him until next summer at the earliest, more so after their recent scoring woes.
Kevin Schade, Bryan Mbeumo, and Yoane Wissa have been tasked with filling the goalscoring void. But Brentford have found the net just once in their last three appearances, while Schade has now been ruled out for several months with a groin problem, and he has since had to undergo surgery.
🤩 NM7 pic.twitter.com/Uv3Qv8G20Y
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) September 29, 2023
Other than Schade, Rico Henry had surgery this week. Mikkel Damsgaard has also been ruled out and will see a specialist regarding his troublesome knee injury. Ben Mee, Shandon Baptiste, and Josh Dasilva remain sidelined through various injury problems, while Frank will look to make one or two other changes in response to recent poor performances.
The visitors are likely to start with the 4-3-3 formation, where Mark Flekken will be in goal. Aaron Hickey and Mads Roerslev should start out wide as the full-backs. Meanwhile, Nathan Collins and Ethan Pinnock will start as the centre-back pairing.
In the centre of the park, Vitaly Janelt and Mathias Jensen will pair up with Christian Norgaard. The trio will look to dictate the pace of the game and force the hosts onto the back foot.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Hickey; Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo, Wissa, Lewis-Potter
Key Stats
- Nottingham Forest have been winless in the past four league meetings (D2 L2).
- Brentford have recorded more league draws than any other Premier League club this season (3).
- Forest are undefeated in their last five home games in the Premier League (W1 D1).
- Brentford have lost four of their last seven away league fixtures.
- Both teams have scored in four of Brentford’s six league games this season.
Player to Watch
Taiwo Awoniyi
The Nigerian striking powerhouse has continued his form since the end of last season and has been the standout player for the Tricky Trees this season. Having scored in seven successive matches, Awoniyi then assisted in each of his next two to extend his run with direct goal involvement to nine matches. But his remarkable run finally came to an end in his last outing away at Manchester City.
Awoniyi also boasts an impressive record at the City Ground, having been directly involved in nine goals in his ten home Premier League starts for Forest (7 goals, 2 assists). Brentford have also shipped seven goals in their last four league matches, which indicates that Steve Cooper’s side will have plenty of chances to get on the scoresheet.
Prediction
Nottingham Forest 3-1 Brentford
The Bees have been in a slump recently, and Thomas Frank will see this game as an opportunity to get back on track. But Nottingham Forest will have other plans. The hosts have been a tough nut to crack in previous games, including nullifying Manchester City for big stretches of last week’s match.
Nottingham Forest also did not have to cope with a midweek cup tie, so could be a bit fresher. And with bags of explosive pace in their attack, the Tricky Trees might have some fun tormenting a depleted Brentford side on home soil this Sunday.
At the other end of the park, the defensive stability that has served the Bees so well in recent seasons appears to have vanished in recent times, with the capital club securing just one clean sheet in the past six games this term to date, which could come into play here and work in the hosts’ favour.
