With the dust settling after Brentford’s opening clash at the City Ground, Billy TheBee Grant asked Beesotted contributors to pick their strongest possible XI. No injuries. No strikes. No excuses. Just the best Brentford team on paper. The results were revealing – and when compared to Keith Andrews’ actual line-up against Nottingham Forest, they raised big questions about where the Bees are right now, how far we are from full strength, and what still needs fixing if we’re going to be truly competitive this season.
On this week’s podcast which you can listen to on the player below or by clicking this link, we asked a load of Beesotted contributors to name their strongest Brentford XI from the squad of Wednesday 20th August
The ground rules were simple:
- Everyone is fully fit
- No one is on strike
- Everyone’s available
In other words, we weren’t dealing in hypotheticals about injuries, transfer sagas or fitness issues. This was about who makes it into Brentford’s best possible starting XI right now.
Comparing Keith Andrews’ Forest XI to the Contributors’ XIs
Fast forward to Sunday at the City Ground and Keith Andrews’ actual line-up against Nottingham Forest looked, well… rather different.
Brentford’s Formation at Nottingham Forest, August 2025
His starting XI featured:
- Lewis-Potter, Carvalho, Thiago, Milambo and Jensen all from the off
- A central midfield pivot of Yarmolyuk and Jensen that raised a few eyebrows
For context, we also asked Beesotted’s tactical gurus The Allard and Bees Breakdown to name their ideal line-ups against Forest – factoring in availability, balance, partnerships, and tactics.
Interestingly, The Allard went for a complete change of shape, whereas Bees Breakdown kept close to Andrews’ formation with just a slight tweak.
Now, here’s the reality of Andrews’ selections:
Keane Lewis-Potter – excellent at left full-back last season, but still a work in progress as a left winger
Fábio Carvalho – learning the ropes out wide on the right, when his natural position is as a No. 10
Igor Thiago – back from injury. Hasn’t had much game-time and still finding rhythm
Antoni Milambo – thrown in at the deep end with Damsgaard absent on paternity leave
Mathias Jensen – returning from a long injury lay-off, still short of sharpness. Yarmolyuk had looked effective alongside Nørgaard last season, but Jensen doesn’t quite bring the same robustness to the pivot
But who else could he have chosen?
Looking at The Allard’s Forest starting XI
He went 3-5-2: Kayode and Henry as wingbacks
Ajer added into the back three for extra height
Onyeka partnering Yarmolyuk to provide steel against Anderson and Gibbs-White, and Carvalho tucked in closer to Thiago up front.
Meanwhile, Bees Breakdown lined up with a team almost identical to Andrews – his only real changes being Henderson in for Milambo and playing in the midfield double pivot, with Jensen pushed slightly higher and wider to the left, combining with Rico Henry down that flank.
Bees Breakdown’s Alternative Brentford team against Forest. Aug 25
Jacob Gowler’s Bees Breakdown stuck with a team which pretty much resembled Andrew’s side with the only difference being Milambo being replaced by Henderson with him playing in the double pivot with Yarmo and Jenson playing further up the pitch, providing support for Rico Henry on the left hand side
Contributor’s Ideal XI
Looking at who the Beesotted contributors chose as their idea Brentford XI
Ali’s XI
Ali’s Stongest Brentford XI as of 20th Aug 2025
Ali opted for what she described as the strongest full back pairing of Hickey and Henry. Interestingly she chose a fit Pinnock over Van De Berg. The midfield and front line is pretty much in line with what most people chose from the available players
Billy’s XI
Billy’s Strongest Brentford XI as of 20th Aug 2025
Billy went with Lewis-Potter at left back, settling for a defence that were holding their own at the back end of last season. Henderson partnering Yarmoliuk is the centre of defence and a potent attacking line-up
Laney’s XI
Laney’s Stongest Brentford XI as of 20th Aug 2025
Laney went curve ball. The defence and central midfield paring looks fairly popular, with a fair few contributors choosing this combo. However, he chose to throw in Thiago ahead of 19 goal Wissa which is a bit of an eye opener it has to be said. Heart over head?
Sherlock’s XI
Sherlock’s Strongest Brentford XI as of 20th Aug 2025
Sherlock went for a Hickey/Kayode full back combo. Ajer slips into the centre back position in place of Van Der Berg. Yarmo pairs Hendo. His line-up, up front was the most popular line-up
The Allard’s XI
The Allard’s Strongest Brentford XI as of 20th Aug 2025
Interesting from The Allard. Kayode and Hickey full back pairing. Janelt in the midfield enforcer role as Henderson hasn’t featured heavily enough in pre season and in the opener for him to make up his mind about him. In the attacking positions, Wissa is played out on the wing with Thiago up front as Outarra hasn’t featured as yet and The Allard would like to see what he is like before placing him into the team
What We Found
After pulling together all the contributors’ strongest XIs, a few clear conclusions stood out.
The Wissa question
For some reason, some contributors were hesitant to include Yoane Wissa – even though the rules said we ignore injuries and “strikes.” The irony is he’s one of our most potent players and, with 19 goals last season, his value to the team is huge. Right now, his absence is costing us. Until the club resolves the situation – either getting him back in the side or replacing him with someone who can deliver a similar goal return – Brentford will be weaker up front than we should be.
The Allard’s cautious call
In classic Allard fashion, Henderson and Ouattara didn’t make his ideal XI. His stance is simple: he won’t pick anyone until he’s seen them play in a Brentford shirt. Old school, yes. Sensible, probably.
Andrews’ hands were tied
The Forest team selection wasn’t Keith Andrews’ fantasy XI – not by a long stretch. Compared to the strongest line-ups chosen, he wouldn’t ideally have started Lewis-Potter, Carvalho, Thiago, Milambo, and maybe even Jensen. That’s nearly half the team forced in by circumstance.
The midfield mismatch
Pretty much everyone agreed that Yarmolyuk and Jensen doesn’t work as a midfield two. Jensen is the passer, Yarmolyuk is the runner – but together they don’t complement each other.
- There’s no defensive shield like you’d get with Nørgaard or Onyeka.
- Physically, both can be brushed aside by stronger midfields.
- And there’s no clear “controller + destroyer” balance.
The departure of Nørgaard has left a gaping hole in midfield. Yes, he was injury-prone and not always at his best, but his influence and presence are badly missed. Whether it’s Henderson (still short of fitness), Janelt (working back from injury), a new signing or, as is most likely, a combination of the three, that role needs to be nailed down quickly if Brentford are to look solid again.
Perspective is key
Every single “strongest XI” our contributors picked looked a clear step up from the team that started against Forest.
That tells us a few things:
- There’s still a long way to go with this squad
- The Wissa situation has to be resolved quickly so his goals are back in the mix – either from him or from a proper replacement.
- Central midfield needs fixing. We need a solid, balanced partnership in there.
- Patience is key while injured players return, new signings bed in, and the squad builds match sharpness.
Final Word
This isn’t about slating Andrews or playing the hindsight game. It’s about asking what Brentford’s strongest XI actually looks like – and realising we haven’t seen it yet.
Once the squad is fully fit, not on strike, and properly integrated, then we can start judging how we stack up against the rest of the division.
Until then, it’s about making do with what we’ve got. Not ideal – and, to be fair, Andrews hasn’t been playing with a full deck.
That said, based on his first match, you could argue the cards he did have weren’t great… but he might still have played one or two of them slightly better.
You can check out the whole squad analysis on the Aston Villa pre-match podcast Part 2 which can be find in the audio player above on click on the link
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