Nottingham Forest host Brentford in a mid-table Premier League encounter at the City Ground.
Victory would see Forest climb to tenth in the table, whilst Brentford can leapfrog their hosts and go tenth with a win.
Team News
Nuno Tavares is ruled out for Forest after he was substituted during their defeat at Manchester City with a groin injury, but could return next weekend after the injury was declared to be a minor issue.
Wayne Hennessey, Felipe (both knee) and Danilo (hamstring) remain ruled out.
Brentford will be without Kevin Schade until New Year after he suffered an adductor injury which required surgery.
Ben Mee (muscle) will also be sidelined but is expected to return after October’s international break.
Mikkel Damsgaard, Rico Henry (both knee), Shandon Baptiste (shoulder), Josh Dasilva (hamstring) and Ivan Toney (suspnesion) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Forest host Brentford at City Ground on Sunday 1 October in a 2pm BST kick-off, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Forest have won just one of their last five league meetings against Leicester (W1, D2, L2).
- Brentford are unbeaten in three of their last five visits to Forest (W2, D1, L2).
- Forest scored first in both meetings against Brentford last season (D1, L1).
- Forest failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their two league games at home this season (W1, D1).
- Brentford are looking to avoid suffering four consecutive defeats in all competitions for the first time since a six-match streak between January-February 2022
Prediction
Claiming any sort of result at Man City was always an impossible task for Forest given their away record, but to only lose by two goals which both came in the first half is a solid achievement although they must just reset now and go again.
Brentford meanwhile seem to have hit a rut and to lose Schade on top of the already absent Damsgaard and Toney is a huge worry attack wise, because if Bryan Mbeumo or Yoane Wissa get injured then I fear that they could hit a goalscoring block due to lack of transfer activity up front.
Performance wise, Thomas Frank’s Bees were slightly unlucky to lose to Arsenal in midweek but they have to sort out their consistency, because just one league win is surely a concern even if they grind out draws and they’re capable of better results.
Forest though look more solid and united as a team with excellent attacking quality and press which I do feel could cause issues for Brentford’s defence, especially with Mee sidelined given his leadership qualities within the Bees’ back line.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Brentford
