Nottingham Forest vs. Brentford: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

Nottingham Forest aiming to recover from Wembley heartbreak when they host Brentford in the Premier League.
Nottingham Forest push for Champions League qualification at home against Brentford.
Nottingham Forest push for Champions League qualification at home against Brentford. / Visionhaus/Getty Images

Nottingham Forest must recover from their FA Cup semifinal defeat when they host Brentford in the Premier League on Thursday evening.

The rearranged fixture comes just four days after Wembley heartbreak for Nuno Espirito Santo's side as they missed the opportunity to book an FA Cup final clash with Crystal Palace. Goals early in both halves saw them beaten by last year's runners-up Manchester City in the capital.

Fortunately for Forest, they still have much riding on the final five games of their Premier League campaign. They are tantalisingly close to qualifying for the Champions League but must finish in the top five to achieve their ambitions, with victory on Thursday taking them up to third in the standings.

Brentford still harbour slim European hopes themselves. An eighth-placed finish could be enough to secure Europa Conference League football next summer and the Bees will be just two points from Fulham in eighth should they win at Forest midweek. Defeat, however, would more or less rule out any late drama for Thomas Frank's side this term.

Here is Sports Illustrated's guide to the encounter.


What Time Does Nottingham Forest vs. Brentford Kick-Off?

  • Location: Nottingham, England
  • Stadium: City Ground
  • Date: Thursday 1 May
  • Kick-off Time: 19:30 BST / 14:30 ET / 11:30 PT
  • Referee: Darren England
  • VAR Craig Pawson

Nottingham Forest vs. Brentford Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)

  • Nottingham Forest: 1 win
  • Brentford: 2 wins
  • Draws: 2
  • Last meeting: Brentford 0-2 Nottingham Forest (21 December 2024) - Premier League

Current Form (All Competitions)

Nottingham Forest

Brentford

Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City - 27/04/25

Brentford 4-2 Nottingham Forest - 19/04/25

Tottenham -12 Nottingham Forest - 21/04/25

Arsenal 1-1 Brentford - 12/04/25

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Everton - 12/04/25

Brentford 0-0 Chelsea - 06/04/25

Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest - 05/04/25

Newcastle 2-1 Brentford - 02/04/25

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Man Utd - 01/04/25

Bournemouth 1-2 Brentford - 15/03/25


How to Watch Nottingham Forest vs. Brentford on TV

Country

TV channel/live stream

United States

fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO

United Kingdom

Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra, NOW TV

Canada

fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada

Mexico

Max Mexico, TNT Go, TNT Sports


Nottingham Forest Team News

Ola Aina
Ola Aina is still a major doubt for Thursday / IMAGO/NurPhoto

Espirito Santo was coy on the fitness of Forest right back Ola Aina, who has been absent since the beginning of the month with a calf injury. "We will assess him and see how fast he can return to the team," stated the Portuguese before the Brentford game.

Elsewhere, Forest have few injury concerns, although Espirito Santo admitted that several players must be assessed after the exhausting clash with City at the weekend.

Ryan Yates and Neco Williams could return to the starting lineup after serving suspensions on Sunday.


Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup vs. Brentford

Nottingham Forest predicted lineup vs. Brentford (4-2-3-1): Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Toffolo; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.


Brentford Team News

Vitaly Janelt is missing for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on a heel issue that has been causing him issues for some time, meaning he joins long-term absentees Fabio Carvalho and Joshua Dasilva in the treatment room.

Aaron Hickey and Igor Thiago have been absent for lengthy spells, particularly the former, but both are close to making comebacks after returning to full training. However, they will be eased back into the equation as they get back up to full match fitness and won't be available for the Forest clash as per Frank.


Brentford Predicted Lineup vs. Nottingham Forest

Brentford predicted lineup vs. Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Yarmolyuk; Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade; Wissa.


Nottingham Forest vs. Brentford Score Prediction

Forest must quickly put their weekend disappointment behind them and Espirito Santo's side have seldom struggled to recover from setbacks this term. Their consistency and unflappability has been integral to their push for Champions League qualification and they should bounce back on Thursday.

Brentford have proven tricky customers this season and boast the attacking personnel capable of unlocking Forest's typically watertight defence, but home advantage and added motivation should work in favour of the Tricky Trees.

Prediction: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Brentford


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Ewan Ross-Murray
EWAN ROSS-MURRAY

Ewan Ross-Murray is a Sports Illustrated Soccer freelance writer who focuses primarily on the Premier League. Ewan was born in Leicester, but his heart, and club allegiance, belongs to Liverpool.