Nottingham Forest welcome Brentford to the City Ground in their hugely important rearranged Premier League fixture on Thursday night.
Both clubs realistically need a win to keep their respective European ambitions intact, as they play catchup on the rest, four days after the Premier League weekend concluded.
Match preview
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The reason for this fixture being moved was because Forest were in FA Cup semi-final action on Sunday, losing 2-0 to Manchester City at Wembley.
After Josko Gvardiol's header early in the second half, the game looked beyond Forest, who had fell behind inside two minutes, but Nuno Espirito Santo's men hit the post three times and saw Anthony Elanga squander a huge opportunity after the interval, in a tie that could have easily gone the other way.
Focus will now solely be on securing an unlikely Champions League spot for Forest, returning to the competition over four decades since their last appearance, and they are well placed after a vital 2-1 win away to Tottenham Hotspur in their last league outing.
Few games will epitomise them under Nuno better than that win in North London, as Forest had just 30% possession and were outshot 22 to four, but after taking an early two-nil lead, they dug in and held on for the three points.
Newcastle United, Manchester City and Chelsea have all won since then, though, dropping Forest from third to sixth in the Premier League table, but with a game in hand, they are only outside the top five on goal difference, and just two points off third.
On paper, Forest's fixtures are favourable too, facing a pitiful Leicester City, and an out-of-form West Ham United, before hosting top-five rivals Chelsea on the final day.
However, Brentford stand in their way first, and there is no chance Nuno will be taking them lightly, given their strong away form, and the fact Forest were stunned in their last fixture at the City Ground, losing in the final minute of injury time to Everton.
Forest did win in the reverse fixture, claiming a 2-0 win at the Gtech, which was their first in the top flight against Brentford, as well as becoming the first team to win there this season, after the Bees entered the fixture having taken 22 points from a possible 24 at home.
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Form has completely flipped since then, as that kick-started a run of woeful home form, but Thomas Frank's men suddenly found belief on their travels, winning five in a row away from the Gtech to start 2025, as well as taking a point at Arsenal, after having the worst away record of any Premier League club in the first five months of the season.
Brentford did arrest their dreadful run at home last time out, beating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-2 to end a nine-game winless streak at the Gtech, as well as keeping their European dreams alive.
Never before have the Bees played continental football, but if Man City win the FA Cup, eighth place will earn a Conference League spot this season, and Frank's men enter this fixture just five points back.
Fulham and Brighton's late wins over the weekend have not helped, though, so Brentford will have to be near-perfect if they are to claw back that gap, despite having a game in hand.
Team News
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Neco Williams and Ryan Yates will both be available again after they were suspended for Forest's FA Cup defeat to Man City on Sunday, so teenager Zach Abbott is set to drop out.
Jota Silva returned from a brief setback to come on as a late substitute in that one, but will most likely have to settle for a place on the bench again, with Elanga set to come into the starting XI after surprisingly being left out against City.
Ola Aina remains the only first-team injury concern for Forest, but the Nigerian full-back is not far from making a comeback now from a calf problem, but Harry Toffolo's performances at left-back have alleviated issues during his absence.
Brentford are close to welcoming Igor Thiago and Aaron Hickey back from long-term setbacks, with Frank confident both will play again this season.
However, there is less optimism around Fabio Carvalho and Josh Dasilva, while Yunus Emre Konak joined them on the treatment table after being forced off against Brighton, despite only coming on as an 87th-minute substitute.
Rico Henry continued his recovery by getting 30 minutes in the win over the Seagulls, but Frank is likely to keep him in reserve for now, especially with Keane Lewis-Potter still performing well as a makeshift left-back.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Toffolo; Dominguez, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Yarmolyuk, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade
We say: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Brentford
Brentford have proven to be tricky customers for many teams this season, mainly due to their potent attack, and even a rearguard as stern as Forest's could struggle against Frank's men.
For the most part this season, Forest have been excellent at home, but they lacked ideas against Everton last time out. Breaking teams down is certainly not their forte and that could raise some more problems here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
