English Premier
2026-01-25 - Brentford vs Nottingham Forest
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 25th January 2025 - Kick Off 2pm
This game is live on TV
Brentford
The strong run of form may have been ended by rivals Chelsea last weekend, but Keith Andrews is going to be well aware that his Brentford team will win a lot more matches than they lose on the performance produced. He will be looking to guide his players to a successful outing in front of the home fans, as Brentford look to keep up with the teams chasing the top European places on offer in the Premier League.
The Bees may have been beaten last weekend to drop back into 7th place in the Premier League table, but they are just 3 points behind Liverpool in the top four and fans will be dreaming about what could follow a strong end to this season. Home form has been huge for Brentford who have a 7-3-1 record at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford had not only been unbeaten in 6 games in all competitions, but they had won 5 of those fixtures and had won 3 in a row before the unfortunate 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge. The key is bouncing back as soon as possible and Brentford are hosting at a ground where they are unbeaten in 7 games in all competitions and have won 5 of those matches. However, 2 of the last 4 here have ended in draws.
Jordan Henderson and Frank Onyeka are hoping to be available for the home team.
Nottingham Forest
The fans were not very happy with the Nottingham Forest players at half time, when subs were being made and at full time in the 1-0 loss at Sporting Braga in the Europa League. The manager cannot have been too pleased with the overall performance, although Sean Dyche blamed one poor minute for turning the game after his Nottingham Forest team missed a Penalty and then conceded an own goal that eventually led to the defeat.
Despite that loss, Nottingham Forest are going to be playing in the Knock Out Rounds of the Europa League, although it has massively increased the likelihood of having to fight through the Play Off Round next month. There is also a huge focus on the Premier League with Nottingham Forest in 17th place and now 5 points clear of West Ham United in the relegation zone following results last weekend.
Nottingham Forest have won 1 of the last 8 games in all competitions, albeit that was a come from behind win away from home at West Ham United earlier this month. The side have won twice in the last 7 away games in all competitions, but Nottingham Forest have lost 4 times in that run after the defeat in Portugal, while also being dumped out of the FA Cup at Championship Wrexham following a Penalty Shoot Out.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Igor Jesus are hoping to be part of the travelling squad, but John Victor and Chris Wood remain absent. Some of those coming into the starting eleven failed to impress again on Thursday, while Elliot Anderson is available despite being sent off in Portugal.
Head to Head
Nottingham Forest beat Brentford 3-1 at the City Ground back in August.
They also won 0-2 here last season, which ended a run of consecutive defeats at the Gtech Community Stadium following promotion.
Prediction
Playing the Thursday-Sunday schedule was always going to be challenging for Nottingham Forest after returning to European Football, but no one could have anticipated this kind of campaign back July.
A third manager is at the helm and Sean Dyche has yet to really stamp his authority on the squad even after a relatively positive beginning to his time in charge.
Recent Cup performances have angered the supporters and Nottingham Forest have been struggling for any real consistency in the Premier League, which has prevented them from moving clear of the relegation battle.
After results last weekend, Nottingham Forest remain under pressure from West Ham United and this is a very tough away game for them following the Thursday night Europa League commitments.
Brentford are coming into this one after a defeat at West London rivals Chelsea, but Keith Andrews will know his team were pretty unfortunate on the day.
Similar levels will produce a lot more wins than losses and Brentford have been very comfortable playing at the Gtech Community Stadium all season. This is a team that are a dark horse to become the latest 'smaller' club to earn a spot in Europe and Brentford will have spent all week preparing for this game.
Breaking down an organised Sean Dyche defence can be challenging, but Brentford will look to exploit set pieces and long throws to try and rattle the visitors.
And it should be noted that Nottingham Forest have remained vulnerable from set pieces- a season long problem- which may give Brentford the narrow advantage.
Last season they were beaten 0-2 at home by Nottingham Forest, but Brentford have been in stronger form over the last month and had beaten them twice in a row here before that loss.
One goal may be enough considering some of the recent struggles Nottingham Forest have had in the final third and Brentford can do enough to get back to winning ways.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Brentford 1-0 Nottingham Forest
