Brentford vs. Nottingham Forest: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

One of the most interesting games of this weekend’s Premier League lineup comes in West London, where Brentford host Nottingham Forest.

• Date: 21/12/2024
• Kick-off time: 15:00
• Location: Brentford Community Stadium, West London

Brentford currently sit 11th in the Premier League with 23 points from 16 games. Fans of the Bees are enjoying a very pleasant campaign, both from an entertainment perspective and in terms of the team’s success. Thomas Frank’s side are arguably the most thrilling team in the entire division, with the Bees having scored 32 goals in the league, the third most in the league, while conceding 30, the fourth most in the league.

Brentford are value for money this season, and while Frank will be pleased with his side’s overall performance, there will be one or two issues that are no doubt bothering him. Under Frank, Brentford had gained a reputation as a side that are extremely well-drilled, meticulously organised and tough to break down, but this season, much of that has disappeared, with Brentford managing only one clean sheet all season.

Secondly, Brentford’s away form has been awful. While their home form is excellent - they’re currently unbeaten on home soil - their away form has been dire, with Frank’s men having drawn one and lost seven of their eight league games away from home. Why they struggle on the road so much remains to be seen, but if Brentford want to crack the top half of the table come May, they’ll need to start picking up more points away from home.

In terms of league position, this is the best team Brentford have faced at home all season, and given the form of Nottingham Forest and their ability to pick up points in big games, this will be a huge test of where Brentford are at this season. They’ve no doubt made huge leaps from where they were last season, but if they want to really lay down a marker, this would be a game to do just that.

Nottingham Forest currently sit 4th in the Premier League with 28 points from 16 games. This season has been nothing short of a dream for Nottingham Forest. Under Nuno Espírito Santo, Forest have been the surprise package in the league and are, by a distance, the most overperforming side in the division. Many fancied Forest to be in a relegation battle entering this campaign, but they now have their eyes on a top seven finish as they dream of playing European football once more.

Forest are one of the most intelligently constructed sides in the division, with full-backs that can contribute at both ends of the pitch (Ola Aina and Alex Moreno), a pair of midfielders in Ryan Yates and Elliot Anderson who are comfortable in all phases of play, a nice blend of pacy, creative and goalscoring wingers in Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga and Jota Silva, and a big, reliable goalscorer up top in Chris Wood. Few sides in the league are as well-balanced as Forest, and despite their scattergun approach to squad building in their first couple of seasons in the Premier League, they’ve now stumbled on a very settled team.

Forest have picked up some big and impressive points away from home this season, and any result here would be a positive one. The Tricky Trees are very unlikely to be a top four team come May, but if they can keep collecting points in the toughest games, who knows what might happen.

This game will not be televised live in the UK, but partial radio coverage will be provided by BBC Radio Nottingham.

Brentford Team News:

The Bees are still missing long-term absentees, Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey, while Gustavo Nunes, Josh Dasilva and Mathias Jensen are all set to miss out.

Thomas Frank will almost certainly make changes to the side that lost in Newcastle at the weekend, with Bryan Mbeumo, Mikkel Damsgaard and Sepp van den Berg all in contention to return.

Predicted lineup: Flekken; Van den Berg, Pinnock, Collins; Roerslev, Yarmolyuk, Nørgaard, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Mbeumo, Wissa.

Nottingham Forest Team News:

Forest are hoping that Ryan Yates and Murillo will both be fit to start this one, after the duo both picked up knocks in last weekend's game against Aston Villa.

Ibrahim Sangare and Danilo remain confirmed absentees for the home side, but a fit again Alex Moreno could work his way back into the starting XI.

Predicted lineup: Sels; Aina, Milenković, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.

Brentford:

Brentford's form is mixed, as the Bees enter this game with two wins and three losses from their last five games. Brentford took on Newcastle in the semi-final of the League Cup in the week and fell to a 3-1 defeat, with Yoane Wissa scoring a late consolation goal.

Before that, Brentford lost 2-1 away at Chelsea after beating Newcastle 4-2 on home soil, with the goals coming from Bryan Mbeumo, Wissa, Nathan Collins and Kevin Schade.

Those results followed a 3-1 loss away at Aston Villa and a 4-1 win at home to Leicester City, courtesy of a Schade hat-trick and a goal from Wissa.

Nottingham Forest:

Nottingham Forest are in decent shape having won three and lost two of their last five, winning three of their last four. A late comeback thanks to goals from Nikola Milenković and Anthony Elanga gave them a 2-1 win over Aston Villa at the weekend, which came after a 3-2 win at Old Trafford where Milenković, Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood sealed the points.

Prior to that, Forest were soundly beaten 3-0 away at Manchester City, which was preceded by a 1-0 win over Ipswich Town, thanks to a Chris Wood penalty, and a 3-0 defeat away at Arsenal.

Brentford are extremely strong on home soil as they enter this game unbeaten at home all season, having also won all of their last five in front of their own fans. Forest, though, are no mugs away from home, and their only losses on the road this season have been at Arsenal and Manchester City, with Nuno's men claiming four points from games at Anfield and Stamford Bridge.

Generally, when Brentford are involved, there are goals, especially in home games, where the Bees have seen an average of 6.2 goals scored per game in their last five league games. Similarly, Forest have seen an average of 3.75 goals scored per game in their last four games on the road, so it's fair to expect this one to throw up a few goals. Brentford 2-2 Nottingham Forest.

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