Nottingham Forest resume their push for a top-five Premier League finish in a rearranged clash against Brentford.
Victory will see Forest climb back up to third in the table, whilst Brentford will stay 11th regardless of the result but a win would put Thomas Frank’s Bees just two points off the race for eighth and potential European qualification.
Team News
Forest will welcome Neco Williams and Ryan Yates back into contention after the pair were suspended for the Tricky Trees’ FA Cup semi-final exit against Manchester City.
Ola Aina (calf) and Eric da Silva Moreira (knock) could return if pass late fitness checks.
Brentford will be without Vitaly Janelt after the midfielder needed surgery to fix a long-standing heel injury, which has meant that he will be sidelined until pre-season.
Josh Dasilva (knee), Fabio Carvalho (shoulder), Igor Thiago (joint) and Aaron Hickey (hamstring) remain ruled out.
When is Kick-Off?
Forest host Brentford at the City Ground on Thursday 1 May at 7:30pm BST, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Forest have won one of their five previous Premier League meetings against Brentford (W1, D2, L2).
- Brentford have drawn each of their two previous Premier League visits to Forest (D2), having drawn 2-2 in November 2022 then 1-1 in October 2023.
- Victory would see Forest claim their first Premier League double over Brentford.
- Forest’s last three home matches have ended in 1-0 results – of which Nuno Espirito Santos’ Tricky Trees won two of those three games.
- Yoane Wissa has scored in two of Brentford’s last three away matches.
Prediction
Forest sadly lost their FA Cup semi-final with a flat first-half performance where they failed to offer much bite despite their defensive resilience after a slow start, but their much-livelier second-half display has to now be a base to build on in their final five games of the season starting with this match.
Brentford meanwhile absolutely outclassed Brighton in their last outing from clinical finishing to desire and intensity so I would like to see them bring more of the same, particularly because if they can get at Forest from the get-go like Man City did then I can see them getting a win.
I however do expect Forest to bounce back now that Williams and Yates are available again because their absences were felt at Wembley, so they should be good for a draw if can nullify the threats of Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Brentford
Result: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brentford
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