Nottingham Forest will be hoping to move off the bottom of the Premier League table when they welcome Brentford to the City Ground on Saturday.
As it stands, Steve Cooper’s side sit one point behind second-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers and three points inside the relegation zone.
Coming up on Trentside. 👊 pic.twitter.com/ViYIM733u5— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) November 1, 2022
Coming up on Trentside. 👊 pic.twitter.com/ViYIM733u5
Meanwhile, the Bees find themselves eleventh – six points clear of Forest. But they will have to cope without suspended talisman Ivan Toney this weekend.
Forest head into Saturday’s clash on the back of a 5-0 defeat to Arsenal. The Tricky Trees saw just 30% possession last time out and also faced 24 shots.
Despite claiming an impressive 1-0 victory over Liverpool the previous weekend, Forest remain in a perilous position.
Cooper’s men have only managed to win two of their 13 Premier League games since returning to the top flight, meaning no team has claimed fewer victories this term.
On top of that, Forest have the joint-worst defensive record in the division – having conceded 28 goals (2.2 goals against per game).
As for Brentford, they made an impressive start to the season. However, it’s fair to say that they have lost their way in recent weeks.
The Bees lost just one of their opening six Premier League games, picking up two wins and three draws along the way. Since then, however, they have claimed on victory in seven.
Thomas Frank’s side have struggled on their travels in recent times, winning just one of their previous eight away games in the Premier League.
Having conceded nine goals across their past two away clashes, Brentford will struggle to keep a clean sheet on the Saturday.
Head-to-head: Forest and Brentford last met during the 2020/21 Championship campaign. The Bees won 3-1 at the City Ground that season before the teams played out a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture.
When you look at the bigger picture, Brentford have won exactly 50% of their previous 18 meetings with Forest. On the flip side, Forest have won 33%.
Team news: Forest will be without the injured quartet of Omar Richards, Jack Colback, Moussa Niakhate and Harry Toffolo on Saturday.
As we know, Ivan Toney is suspended for Brentford. The Bees have several injury absentees of their own, including Pontus Jansson, Aaron Hickey and Christian Norgard.
Given Forest’s recent struggles, Brentford are expected to leave the City Ground with all three points on this occasion.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score. However, Brentford shouldn’t struggle to exploit Forest’s leaky backline and secure the victory.