Brentford will welcome Nottingham Forest to the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday, with both teams looking to bounce back to winning ways.

Brentford picked up four wins and a draw from their previous five matches, and they will look to pick up a win vs Nottingham Forest at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday. The Bees are in impressive form right now and up to seventh in the League table.

Keith Andrews’s men will want to finish in the top half, and they should be winning these games. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are 17th in the Premier League table with four defeats from their last six Premier League matches.

The Tricky Trees have failed to win five of their last six matches in all competitions, and they are completely devoid of form and confidence. This will be a difficult outing for the away side, and they could struggle here.

Brentford will certainly fancy their chances against Nottingham Forest, and they will look to pick up a win. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

Brentford

Fabio Carvalho is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, while Antoni Milambo and Joshua Dasilva are injured as well. However, there is some positive news, as Jordan Henderson should be fit and available to take on Nottingham Forest. Additionally, Frank Onyeka is back after his commitments in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Brentford will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Nottingham Forest, with Caoimhin Kelleher in goal. Michael Kayode and Rico Henry will start as the full-backs. They will look to keep things tight defensively and hit the visitors on the break. Nathan Collins will form the central defensive partnership alongside Sepp van den Berg.

As for the midfield unit, Jordan Henderson and Yehor Yarmolyuk will look to protect the backline and win the ball back for their side in the middle of the park. Mikkel Damsgaard will start as the central attacking midfielder and help create opportunities in the final third.

Kevin Schade and Keane Lewis-Potter will start on the flanks. They will look to open up the opposition defence with their pace, flair, and movement. Finally, Igor Thiago will lead the line for Brentford vs Nottingham Forest on Sunday. So, Dango Ouattara will be a backup option on the bench for the home side.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, van den Berg, Henry; Yarmolyuk, Henderson; Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Schade; Thiago

Nottingham Forest

John Victor and Chris Wood are ruled out due to their respective knee injuries. However, Igor Jesus (groin) and Murillo (hamstring) should be fit and available to take on Brentford this weekend.

Nottingham Forest will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Brentford, with Matz Sels in goal. Neco Williams and Nicolo Savona will start as the full-backs. They will look to keep things tight at the back and help out going forward. Murillo will start alongside Nikola Milenkovic at the heart of the defence.

As for the midfield unit, Douglas Luiz will add physicality and drive alongside Elliot Anderson in the double pivot. Anderson will look to add defensive cover and control. Morgan Gibbs-White will add creativity and goals to the side in the final third.

Omari Hutchinson and Callum Hudson-Odoi will start on the flanks, and they will look to add pace, flair, and unpredictability going forward. Finally, Igor Jesus will lead the line for Nottingham Forest vs Brentford on Sunday.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sels; Savona, Murillo, Milenkovic, Williams; Luiz, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Igor Jesus

Key Stats

• Brentford have won three of their last six matches against Nottingham Forest. 18 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two teams. The Tricky Trees are looking to complete the league double over Brentford for the third time, previously doing so in 2006/07 (League One) and 2019/20 (Championship).
• Nottingham Forest have lost four of their last six Premier League matches. No team has failed to score in more different Premier League games than Nottingham Forest this season (11). It is already more than they did in both 2024/25 (8) and 2023/24 (10), and just one fewer than in 2022/23 (12).
• Brentford are unbeaten in five of their last six Premier League matches. Only the current top three sides – Arsenal (29), Manchester City (26), and Aston Villa (25) – have earned more home points than Brentford in the Premier League this season (24). The Bees have lost just once at home all season (W7 D3), and they are unbeaten in their last seven at the Gtech Community Stadium (W5 D2).
• No team has scored more goals from direct attacks than Brentford in the Premier League this season (5), while only Everton (4) have conceded more from direct attacks than Nottingham Forest (3).
• Morgan Gibbs-White has scored in his last two Premier League away games. Only two Nottingham Forest have ever scored in three in a row in the competition – Taiwo Awoniyi (4 in August 2023) and Chris Wood (3 in October 2024).

Player to Watch

Igor Thiago

The Brazilian striker is in impressive form, and he is only behind Erling Haaland in the scoring charts. He will look to make his mark in this game again. Igor Thiago’s 16 goals for Brentford this season is already the most by a Brazilian player in a single Premier League campaign. The last South American player to net more was Sergio Aguero in 2018/19 (21).

Nottingham Forest have been quite poor defensively, and they will struggle to keep Thiago quiet. He will look to create chances for his teammates and add to his season goal tally. Brentford will depend on him to punish the defence and score goals.

Prediction

Brentford 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Both teams will be looking to pick up a win here, but the home team will be the favourites. Brentford are in impressive form right now, and they will be full of confidence. On the other hand, the visitors are struggling, and this will be a difficult challenge away from home.

The two sides are likely to get on the score sheet, but Brentford have been the better team this season, and they should be able to get the job done. A narrow victory for the home team is on the cards. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Keith Andrews and his charges.