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Nottingham Forest logo
Championship | Gameweek 18
Dec 12, 2020 at 3pm UK
The City Ground
Brentford logo

Nott'm Forest
1 - 3
Brentford

Worrall (90+2')
Figueiredo (61'), Samba (64'), Knockaert (79')
Knockaert (90+5')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Dalsgaard (15'), Dasilva (83'), Toney (88')
Toney (64'), Raya (82'), Janelt (90+2')

Preview: Nottingham Forest vs. Brentford - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Nottingham Forest and Brentford, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Brentford make the trip to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest having put together a 10-match unbeaten streak in the Championship.

Meanwhile, Forest have lost five of their last half a dozen fixtures, leaving the East Midlands outfit just one point above the relegation zone.


Match preview

Brentford manager Thomas Frank pictured on November 7, 2020© Reuters

After managing to go almost two months without suffering defeat in the second tier, Thomas Frank would have expected his side to be at least sitting in a playoff spot.

However, with six draws coming from their 10 matches, there is an argument that the Bees are fortunate to still be in seventh spot after the resurgence of several teams around them.

The 2-2 draw with 10-man Blackburn Rovers at the weekend was followed by a stalemate against Derby County in midweek, their fifth draw in nine home games this season.

Brentford's results at their new stadium are undermining their efforts on the road, and Frank may now feel that his side are better equipped to gain victory away from the capital.

Ten points have come from a possible 12 since their defeat at Stoke City in the middle of October, a run which has featured four successive clean sheets.

Frank and his players will be confident of making it five in a row against a team in Forest who are lacking belief in the final third.

Anthony Knockaert's fortuitous goal against Norwich City on Wednesday night ended Forest's five-match streak without finding the back of the net.

Despite their abysmal form in front of goal, Chris Hughton's side have somehow managed to remain in 21st position, ahead of improving Derby and Wycombe Wanderers.

Hughton is aware that he has players at his disposal who would hold down a position in many teams at this level, giving him reason to believe that his squad will eventually start living up to their potential.

Remarkably, Forest are yet to concede more than two goals in a match all season, but that only highlights how poor this team have performed in attack under Hughton and previous boss Sabri Lamouchi.

Nottingham Forest Championship form: LLLDLL

Brentford Championship form: DWWWDD


Team News

Chris Hughton pictured in charge of Nottingham Forest on October 17, 2020© Reuters

Knockaert will almost certainly come back into the Forest XI, potentially at the expense of Harry Arter.

Lyle Taylor is in line to retain his place in attack, despite failing to score in his last half a dozen starts.

Frank will likely hand a recall to Brentford centre-back Ethan Pinnock, who remained as an unused substitute against Derby.

Mathias Jensen is expected to replace Emiliano Marcondes, while Tariqe Fosu-Henry and Marcus Forss are pushing for an outing in the final third.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Christie, Figueiredo, Worrall, Ribeiro; Sow, Cafu; Lolley, Knockaert, Ameobi; Taylor

Brentford possible starting lineup:
Raya; Dalsgaard, Jansson, Pinnock, Henry; Jensen, Janelt, Dasilva; Mbuemo, Toney, Fosu-Henry


SM words green background

We say: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Brentford

Given their lack of form in the final third, this game could be far closer than many people are anticipating. Nevertheless, we still expect the visitors to come through with maximum points, potentially through a late goal with Forest prepared to hold out for a point.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



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Written by
Darren Plant

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Brentford win with a probability of 52.78%. A draw had a probability of 25.3% and a win for Nottingham Forest had a probability of 21.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a Brentford win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.07%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.28%) and 1-2 (9.4%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.95%), while for a Nottingham Forest win it was 1-0 (7.6%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 4.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Brentford would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Nott'm Forest vs Brentford

Nottingham Forest
12.2%
Draw
26.8%
Brentford
61.0%
41
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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