Saturday’s game has become all about the return of Ivan Toney from his eight-month ban for breaching gambling regulations.
The match was originally scheduled for last Saturday, but was moved back a week for live TV coverage, which worked in Brentford’s favour as it means Toney can now play.
Forest are the last team Toney scored against (match details below) and that goal was his 20th in the Premier League last season.
Despite that defeat, Forest preserved their Premier League status, but have struggled again this season. They come into Saturday’s match one place and one point above Brentford, but having played a game more.
A run of one win in 13 matches going into mid-December led to the sacking of manager Steve Cooper after just over two years in charge.
While they lost his replacement Nuno Espirito Santo’s first game at the helm 3-2 at home to Bournemouth, they then won back-to-back matches for the first time this season, with a 3-1 win at Newcastle on Boxing Day followed by a 2-1 defeat of Manchester United.
The unbeaten run has stretched to four games with a 2-2 draw against Blackpool in the FA Cup, followed by a 3-2 win after extra-time in the replay on Wednesday.
They now travel to Bristol City in the fourth round next Friday night.
However, Forest have more on their mind than that after being charged, along with Everton, with breaking the Premier League’s financial rules. If found guilty, they could face a fine or a points deduction.
WHO’S IN CHARGE
As mentioned earlier, Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed as Forest manager last month.
It is his third Premier League job having been in charge at both Wolves and Spurs.
He joined Wolves in 2017 when they were in the Championship and led them to promotion in his first season in charge, before earning two consecutive seventh-placed top flight finishes and guiding the club to the Europa League quarter-finals.
In the summer of 2021, he moved to Spurs but was sacked after a run of five defeats in seven matches.
He joined Al-Ittihad in July 2022 and won the Saudi title with them last season, but was sacked early this campaign, after a string of poor results.
Nuno was a goalkeeper in his playing career, representing Deportivo La Coruna, Porto (two spells), Dynamo Moscow and Aves, while he also managed Porto, after spells in charge of Rio Ave and Valencia, before coming to England.
WE’VE MET BEFORE
Forest and Brentford have been regular opponents in recent years.
They were one of only four teams we met in every season of our Championship stay. (Birmingham, Derby and Sheffield Wednesday are the others) and this is the second consecutive season in which we’ve played them in the Premier League.
We have earned five points from our three top-flight meetings.
The first was at the City Ground in November 2022, and we earned a 2-2 draw in a see-saw match in which we fell behind, took the lead and then conceded a last-gasp equaliser.
Morgan Gibbs-White put Forest ahead in the 20th minute but, in the absence of Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo equalised from a penalty in first-half stoppage-time after Dean Henderson brought down Yoane Wissa.
Wissa put us ahead for the first time in the 75th minute as he ran through and chipped Henderson, but an own goal off Zanka in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage-time rescued a point for the hosts and denied us a first Premier League away win of the season.
The return game at the Gtech in April had a dramatic finish as Ivan Toney and Josh Dasilva scored late on to give us a 2-1 comeback victory.
Danilo put Forest ahead on the stroke of half-time, but Toney’s deflected free-kick, his 20th Premier League goal of the season, in the 82nd minute before a trademark “great” Dasilva goal four minutes into stoppage-time secured the points for us.
At the City Ground in October, we drew 1-1 after taking the lead.
Christian Norgaard gave us the lead with his first goal for 14 months soon after the break, from a free-kick awarded for a foul by Moussa Niakhate, who was sent off for his second yellow card.
However, seven minutes later Nicolas Dominguez equalised for the hosts.
In our Championship meetings, we had the upper hand for the first four campaigns with six wins, one draw (our first meeting) and one defeat from our eight meetings, but after that, Forest hit back with three wins compared to our two.
Championship meetings (Bees scores first):
2014/15 – (H) 2-2 (A) 3-1
2015/16 – (H) 2-1 (A) 3-0
2016/17 – (H) 1-0 (A) 3-2
2017/18 – (H) 3-4 (A) 1-0
2018/19 – (H) 2-1 (A) 1-2
2019/20 – (H) 0-1 (A) 0-1
2020/21 – (H) 1-1 (A) 3-1
Brentford earned our first home win over Forest for 66 years in November 2015, thanks to a dramatic late, late goal from Philip Hofmann, after fellow substitute Sergi Canos had put us ahead. Harlee Dean was sent off and Henri Lansbury equalised for Forest before Hofmann stole the headlines to give us a 2-1 victory.
Brentford completed our first double over Forest since the 1948/49 season when we won 3-0 at the City Ground at the start of April. Inspired by another international break, second half goals from Lasse Vibe, Nico Yennaris and Canos again secured a victory which many fans said was one of their highlights of the season – simply because it seemed to banish any fears of relegation.
It sparked our move away from the lower reaches of the table and a run of six wins in eight games in the month.
Last time we met in the Championship, Brentford earned a 3-1 win at the City Ground in mid-December behind closed doors, to stretch our unbeaten run to 11 games.
Henrik Dalsgaard headed the opener from a Mathias Jensen corner and after the break, Josh Dasilva doubled the lead with a trademark left-foot curling shot after a Sergi Canos pass.
Ivan Toney made it safe when he slid home Vitaly Janelt’s lofted pass for his 15th goal of the season, before Joe Worrall headed a late consolation and Anthony Knockaert was sent off for a second yellow card.
The home return in March was still played without fans and finished 1-1.
Ivan Toney put us ahead early on from the penalty spot with his 28th league goal of the season, but Filip Krovinovic equalised midway through the second half.
The result left us fourth in the table, a point behind Swansea and seven adrift of second-placed Watford, while Forest moved up to 15th – seven points clear of the bottom three.
OPPOSITION VIEW
BBC Radio Nottingham’s Nottingham Forest correspondent Colin Fray assesses Forest’s season so far, talks about the club’s managerial change and recalls previous meetings between the sides.
Colin spoke to me before the news of the FA charges on Forest broke, which is why it’s not featured in this section. However, he did give his views to the BBC on the subject this week, which you can read here.
Q – How would you assess Forest’s season so far?
A – I’d say the season has been a little below the expectations of both fans and ownership. Given the investment into the playing staff, there was a feeling that a good season this year could see Forest edge a little further away from the relegation zone than they spent the whole of last season, and so have a more comfortable Premier League experience. It hasn’t happened yet, with their home form having suffered – and that was so important for them last season. They’re currently sitting on one point per game, which is exactly their return from last season’s 38 games.
Q – How much of a surprise was the managerial change and how would you reflect on Steve Cooper’s reign?
A – Given some of the comments above, it’s perhaps not a surprise to see ambitious owners who’ve spent a lot of money make a change, and the man in charge, Evangelos Marinakis showed patience and faith in Steve Cooper on a couple of occasions last season – rewarded in the end with staying in the Premier League. And that contributed to a special relationship Steve had with a large majority of the supporters. His couple of years in charge brought so much joy and happiness and so many “first in a generation” moments. A return to the Premier League after a 23-year absence, a first trip to Wembley since 1992, a first EVER play-off victory, a League Cup semi-final – the first since ’92, and an FA Cup quarter-final – the first since 1996.
It all led to incredible atmospheres around the City Ground and a remarkable relationship between the fans and the man who turned so much around at the City Ground. That’s why Steve Cooper will be missed by many and will always be welcomed back.
Q – What changes, if any, has Nuno Espirito Santo made so far?
A – We’ve seen Forest a little more on the front foot, and a little more aggressive in their approach. He’s made a tweak to the formation which has enabled Morgan Gibbs-White to get back into his most effective central position, and he’s been influential in the Nuno era so far.
In his first game, they had to play for three-quarters of the match with 10 men after a shocking decision to give Willy Boly a second yellow card – and still only lost in the 94th minute. They followed it with deserved wins at Newcastle and against Manchester United – so confidence has also been boosted by that.
Q – At the time of writing, what transfer business have Forest done this month?
A – Gustavo Scarpa has returned to Brazil for a small fee, and Andrey Santos has been recalled by Chelsea after an unsuccessful loan spell – but that’s the only concrete business so far.
Q – What are your memories of past Brentford-Forest games?
A – Not great, largely, from a Forest point of view! Since they restarted playing each other in the mid-2000s, Brentford have been a bit of a bogey side for Forest…last season being a classic example: Forest received an apology for refereeing errors at the City Ground in a two-all draw, and then threw away a late lead to lose 2-1 in west London. But I do remember two fine goals from Andreas Bouchalakis in a 4-3 win for Forest at Griffin Park in 2017, and a backs-to-the-wall victory after an early Joe Lolley goal in 2020.
Q – Finally can you give me a possible Forest formation and line-up please?
A – Writing this before the cup replay at Blackpool (so assuming no injuries/suspensions!), Nuno’s matches so far have seen Forest go with a 4-2-3-1 formation, and he’s used both goalkeepers. Forest have also had a series of injuries – including to striker Taiwo Awoniyi and winger Anthony Elanga – and they’re certainly not helped by six players being away at AFCON. So with either Turner or Odysseas in goal, it could be:
Montiel Worrall Murillo Nuno Tavares
Yates Danilo
Dominguez Gibbs-White Elanga
Wood
Felipe could come in in place of Worrall if he’s fit, and Elanga may not make it – in which case it would probably be Callum Hudson-Odoi on a wing. He also has full-back options in Neco Williams and Harry Toffolo.
** Since Colin sent this line-up, Morgan Gibbs-White has also been ruled out of the match because of injury **
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME IF YOU CAN’T BE THERE
If you can’t get to the Brentford Community Stadium for Saturday’s 5.30pm kick-off and want Brentford commentary, audio coverage is available via Buzz Box for free.
Coverage starts half an hour before kick-off and is advert-free, with Mark Burridge and Kirsty Matthews from the Brentford women’s team.
The match is also being shown live on Sky Sports.
There is also live commentary on BBC London and also on BBC 5 Live.
PUBS IN BRENTFORD AND TRAVEL NEWS
For Forest fans coming to the Gtech Community Stadium, there are plenty of pub options pre and post-match and all are most welcoming and away-fan-friendly (as it should be).
The pub areas are split into two zones. There is the area around Brentford’s old Griffin Park stadium. The pubs there are still very busy on match day frequented by Bees locals before heading down the road to the stadium at Kew Bridge which is only 15 mins walk.
Then there is the area in and around the stadium in Kew Bridge.
It is possible, if you have a good early start, to savour a few pubs in and around Griffin Park and Brentford zone before heading off to the pubs in the Kew zone or even vice versa if you so fancy.
Pubs in Griffin Park/Brentford zone
When at Griffin Park, Brentford was well known for its four pubs – one on each corner of the ground. Three are still operating.
The Griffin is closest to the old away end and has always been very popular with both home and away fans and has its regulars who still make the journey down to the new stadium from there on matchday. The New Inn is on the other side which used to also be popular with away fans before the move. The Brook pub is the other option if you want to savour a pub in and around what is left of our old home. Worth a peep if you want to reminisce about old Brentford.
About five minutes’ walk away from the old ground are two pubs which are enormously popular. The Globe (Windmill Rd) is a “lively but comfortable” pub on matchday. Incredibly friendly and cosy, it has always been popular with a selection of away fans who fancied having a beer a few minutes further walk away from the ground without having to queue six persons deep. After the move to the new ground, The Globe has retained many of lot its regulars from the Griffin Park days and with screens throughout the pub and in its sheltered beer garden, it shows both Premier League and EFL football before and after each match.
Meanwhile around the corner, The Lord Nelson (Enfield Rd) is another incredibly friendly and cosy away-friendly pubs about one minute walk from The Globe. Again with a TV screen for live sports and a lovely beer garden, this is another pub frequented by “away fans in the know”.
The other pub worth checking out in the Griffin Park region is The Black Dog Beer House, formerly The Albany, on Albany Road, if you like your real ales.
There are plenty of other pubs in and around Brentford High Street including real ale pub Magpie and Crown (Brentford High Street) and the cosy Brewery Tap (Catherine Wheel Road) near the river.
For a Griffin Park area pub crawl before heading over to Kew we recommend the following: Take the Piccadilly line to Northfields station. Turn left and walk for 2 mins and you will come to The Plough (Northfields Ave). Then walk to The Lord Nelson (10 min walk from The Plough) & then The Globe (1 min walk from The Nelson) en-route before hitting The Griffin (8 min walk from The Globe) and then The Black Dog (2 mins from The Griffin). You can also try and do the other three pubs on the corner whilst down here if you fancy.
Then you can then either walk (15 minutes from The Globe/The Nelson and The Griffin/Black Dog ) or take a train from Brentford station (which is five minutes walk away from both The Globe/The Nelson and The Griffin/Black Dog) or a bus (237/267) to Kew Bridge.
Trains run at 24 and 54 minutes past the hour to Kew Bridge from Brentford and take 2 mins.
Pubs in the Kew Bridge zone
Right next to Kew Bridge station, you will find the Express Tavern – an ale pub with a retro feel. The pub has been refurbished in readiness for the new football season and needless to say, is popular before the match due to its close proximity to the stadium.
Across the road by the river is One Over the Ait – a spacious boozer right next to Kew Bridge. This pub is situated on the location of the now-demolished Oxford & Cambridge pub where Brentford Football Club was founded in 1889.
Across Kew Bridge and the River Thames, there are two pubs on Kew Green – the Cricketers and the Greyhound – very close to the pier where Brentford fans have embarked on their away journeys by water to F*lham, Orient, Charlton, West Ham and even Southend.
North of the river along hoity-toity Strand on the Green, you will find The Steam Packet, in an old Cafe Rouge, and The Bell. A bit further down are The City Barge and the Bulls Head – two pubs side-by-side in which you would often see Ant and Dec hanging out.
There is also The Pilot which you can get to coming out of the BACK entrance of Gunnersbury station and we believe the old John Bull pub at the front of the station has been refurbed as The Gunnersbury but we have never been there so can’t give it a or a
Transport to Brentford and Kew Bridge
The simplest on paper to get to Brentford FC from town is to get the tube to Waterloo (Northern, Jubilee lines) or Vauxhall (Victoria Line) and then take the Overground train to Kew Bridge, which is right by the stadium. Brentford is one stop further on if you are on an ‘Original Griffin Park Pub’ mission.
With trains from Waterloo being only twice an hour (22 and 52) and taking 28 minutes, we normally recommend people jump on the tube from Kings Cross or Euston and head to Northfields or South Ealing on the Piccadilly Line as it is quicker (including the time getting across London and waiting at Waterloo) and trains are more frequent.
It is only 40 mins max station by tube to station meaning you could be in a Brentford pub within an hour of embarking your train at Kings Cross, Euston or Liverpool Street.
The other station option is Gunnersbury. You can walk to the stadium from Gunnersbury tube station (District line) in 25 minutes or take a bus (H91, 237, 267, 110), but note that it is closed for entry for one hour after the match.
For the Brentford/Griffin Park pubs you can get the Piccadilly line tube to Northfields station from King’s Cross or Euston (35 minutes) then walk down to The Plough, The Globe, The Lord Nelson and The Griffin and other pubs from there.
The new stadium is around 25 minutes’ walk from South Ealing station – if you don’t fancy Gunnersbury – or you can get on the 65 bus from across the road which will drop you almost outside in 15 minutes.
You can also pick up the 65 bus from Ealing Broadway (district and central line) which will take you to the new stadium in 25 minutes.
You can check out Transport for London’s guide to travel on the Tube and Overground.
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