Preview: Brentford vs. Nottingham Forest - prediction, team news, lineups

Separated by 12 places in the Premier League table, Brentford welcome 18th-placed Nottingham Forest to the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, aiming to inflict further misery on Oliver Glasner's men.

That aspiration, however, is complicated by the capital club's four-match winless run ahead of their gameweek nine encounter with struggling Forest.

Match preview

Brentford enter matchday nine in the Premier League still wondering how they sit sixth in the early-season standings despite claiming only one victory in their last seven league matches.

The Bees' most recent triumph was a 3-0 thrashing of West London rivals Chelsea before the September-October international break, ending a sequence of three consecutive score draws for Keith Andrews's men.

That derby success has not led to further victories for the capital club, who have recorded two draws and two defeats across all competitions since the international break, collecting just two points from an available nine in the top flight.

Their only league defeat during that period, and indeed across the opening eight gameweeks of the campaign, was a 2-1 reverse against Liverpool, when they were reduced to nine men after taking a 44th-minute lead through Keane Lewis-Potter.

While failing to hold on against Liverpool was understandable given the circumstances, surrendering advantages has been the hallmark of Brentford's season so far: Andrews's men have scored first in eight of their last 10 matches across all competitions but failed to win five of them.

Those five games have all come in the top flight, comprising four draws against Leeds United (1-1), Sunderland (1-1), Bournemouth (2-2) and Aston Villa (2-2), as well as a 2-1 loss to Liverpool, with that recurring problem preventing the London club from occupying a healthier position in the Premier League table.

Forest would ordinarily relish the prospect of punishing the Bees' lack of focus, but Glasner's team have problems of their own to address if they are to give themselves the best chance of success.

The Tricky Trees head into this weekend without a victory in four top-flight matches, losing three and failing to score in two of those games to underline where their main problems lie.

Glasner's men have either failed to score or netted no more than once in six of their eight league matches this term, a shortcoming that let them down in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town.

Forest created the better chances against the promoted outfit but failed to convert most of the clear openings they fashioned, while Ipswich's Leif Davis made timely interventions on the goal line to frustrate the Tricky Trees.

Victory in Suffolk could have lifted Glasner's side out of the bottom three; instead, the joint-lowest scorers enter Saturday aware that they could rise as high as 13th if they add to their paltry six league goals in West London.

Brentford Premier League form:

Brentford form (all competitions):

Nottingham Forest Premier League form:

Team News

While Vitaly Janelt should return to the Brentford XI after serving a one-match suspension against Hull last week, Yegor Yarmoliuk remains absent as he completes a three-game ban following his sending-off in the Liverpool defeat.

Andrews has several injury concerns ahead of Saturday: Joshua Dasilva (thigh) and Antoni Milambo (knee) are not expected to return until early next month, while Rico Henry (thigh) and Kaye Furo (foot) are likely to be back late next month or at the start of December.

With Igor Thiago scoring only once this term, Kevin Schade has carried much of the attacking burden for the Bees by netting three times ahead of this weekend; Lewis-Potter and the returning Janelt have two goals apiece, giving the Londoners additional match-winners to call upon if required.

Only Dan Ndoye has found the net more than once for Forest this term, with the Swiss attacker one of five goalscorers for the away side.

Morgan Gibbs-White may have already registered two assists this season, but the Englishman will hope to provide the decisive quality required this weekend, as will Liam Delap, who has scored only one league goal since joining from Chelsea.

Nicolas Dominguez could return from a muscle injury this weekend, while Nico Williams is also understood to be nearing a comeback after landing on his elbow; however, Igor Jesus (calf) and Nicolo Savona (knee) are likely to miss out.

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Kayode, Ajer, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Sangare; Ouattara, Jensen, Schade; Igor Thiago

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Sels; Cunha, Milenkovic, Murillo; Munoz, McAtee, Schlager, Netz; Ndoye, Gibbs-White; Delap

We say: Brentford 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Brentford's repeated failure to protect winning positions offers encouragement to Forest, particularly after the visitors created enough chances to beat Ipswich last weekend.

However, the Bees have more reliable match-winners and should exploit their opponents' lack of cutting edge to end a four-match winless run.

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