Brentford face Nottingham Forest at Gtech Community Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday (2pm kick-off GMT).
The Bees return to the Gtech having lost just one game in TW8 this term. Forest will visit west London after a trip to face Portuguese side Braga in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Analysis, team news, match officials and more. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
Pre-match Analysis
Stephen Gillett, Playmaker Stats: The numbers point to dramatic finish on Sunday
Sean Dyche's Nottingham Forest are on the hunt for an attacking X-factor ahead of Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium.
Forest's hectic fixture list is a consequence of their superb 2024/25 campaign, which saw them flirt with the Champions League places before they eventually finished seventh in the top flight.
Last term, under Nuno Espírito Santo, Forest combined defensive steel with pacy, counter-attacking football, which brought seven goals on the break. They were also formidable from set-pieces, scoring more Premier League goals (17) from dead-ball situations than any other team.
Spearheading Forest's attack was New Zealand international Chris Wood, who finished behind only Mohamed Salah (29), Alexander Isak (23) and Erling Haaland (22) in the Premier League goal charts. The striker hit 20 of Forest's 58 goals in total (34 per cent) - no player in the division scored a higher share of their team's goals.
Success brings a different set of challenges, however, and two managerial changes coupled with Wood picking up a serious knee injury have defined a more turbulent 2025/26 campaign. Now under head coach Dyche, Forest's struggles to find the net persist.
Only Wolves (15) have scored fewer Premier League goals this term than Forest. Morgan Gibbs-White (five) is their top scorer, while Callum Hudson-Odoi (three) is the only other player to outscore Wood (two) despite the Kiwi’s extended absence. They’re also one of only two teams - Manchester United, the other - yet to score a top-flight goal via a substitute.
Forest’s low attacking output isn’t down to a lack of volume. They rank inside the top 10 for shots taken (266), although a third of those (98) have come from outside the box. Quality chance creation has proved elusive, and the Reds’ crossing numbers tell a story.
According to Opta, Forest have swung in 415 crosses this season - the most in the Premier League - but have the third-lowest cross success rate in the division (18.3 per cent, 76 accurate). Brentford, by comparison, have attempted far fewer crosses (256) but have a higher completion rate (23.4 per cent, 60 accurate).
The last 15 minutes on Sunday could be pivotal, with Brentford hoping to maintain their knack of stinging opponents late in games.
This season, Keith Andrews’ side have scored 13 goals after the 75th minute - six of them in added time. Forest, meanwhile, head to west London having conceded a league-high 12 Premier League goals in the same period.
Andrews, however, will know his Brentford side can ill afford to start in the manner they did in their 3-1 defeat to Forest on the opening day of the season. Three goals down at half-time that day, the Irishman will be determined to show what he and his side are capable of after that game in August.
Scout Report
Dan Long, Sky Sports: Forest face defining run of fixtures
In hindsight, it was a sensible move from bookmakers to offer similar prices for Nottingham Forest to finish in the top six or to get relegated back to the Championship before the season started.
Initially, the former looked more feasible; they were only one point away from completing that in 2024/25. In reality, right now, Forest are flirting with the possibility of the latter, with just a five-point cushion between themselves and West Ham in 18th.
But that tells you little, especially when you consider that Chris Wood - scorer of 20 Premier League goals in 2024/25 - has been absent since October due to a knee injury.
It is the managerial situation that has often been headline news, though.
Nuno Espírito Santo was given a new three-year contract in June for his role in a quite incredible season for Forest, yet only three games into the new Premier League season, he was sacked. In the weeks leading up to the decision, he said his relationship with co-owner Evangelos Marinakis was “not the same” and “not so good as it was.”
The next day, 9 September, Ange Postecoglou was appointed as his replacement. The Australian’s stock was reasonably high after he guided Tottenham to Europa League glory and he was handed a two-year contract for a swift return to management.
“We now must take the right step to compete with the very best and challenge for trophies. Ange has the credentials and the track record to do this,” said Marinakis in a statement posted on the club’s official website.
Within six weeks - 39 days, to be exact - he, too, was gone. Postecoglou took charge of eight games, of which Forest drew two and lost six. His ill-fated spell at the City Ground represents the second-shortest Premier League reign in history and the shortest reign in Forest’s history.
Then came former Forest youth player Sean Dyche, who has been in charge for just over three months now. Five of Forest’s six league wins have come under him, as well as all their victories in the Europa League.
That competition is where they have been able to forget their troubles at home; they are even priced at 9/1 to bring home the trophy.
But, as Sarah Clapson says in Hot off the Press, surviving in the Premier League has to be the priority, and right now, they are among the favourites to be relegated. Taking four points from the last two, against West Ham and Arsenal, should provide some inspiration and belief that they are capable of more than their league position suggests.
With that in mind, the upcoming run of games, against Brentford, Crystal Palace, Leeds and Wolves, will likely be key to how their season ultimately concludes - and whether they will secure a fifth-straight Premier League season.
In the Dugout
Sean Dyche
After a 17-year playing career ended at Northampton in 2007, Sean Dyche immediately stepped into the world of coaching by working as Under-18s coach at former club Watford, who he had played for between 2002 and 2005.
Two years later, Malky Mackay - who, incidentally, joined the Hornets as a player the summer Dyche left - was appointed manager, with Dyche promoted to become his assistant.
Over the next two seasons, the pair guided Watford to 16th and 14th-place finishes in the Championship and, in the summer of 2011, Mackay left to take over at Cardiff, which led to Dyche stepping up to take on the role on a permanent basis in his place.
He led the club to 11th in 2011/12 - their highest finish in four seasons - but the Pozzo family took over and, in a statement, said they “recognised Sean’s impeccable conduct, representing the Hornets with honour and dignity at all times,” before they quickly ousted him in favour of Gianfranco Zola.
Dyche was only out of work for a matter of months, though. Eddie Howe left Burnley to return to Bournemouth in October 2012, and he was installed as Howe’s successor on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
However, he ended up remaining at Turf Moor for seven years more than his initial contract length, guiding the Clarets to promotion to the Premier League as runners-up in 2013/14 and as Championship winners in 2015/16. His side finished seventh in the top flight in 2017/18, which saw them qualify for European football for the first time in over half a century.
In April 2022, with the threat of relegation increasing, Dyche was dismissed by Burnley - who dropped into the Championship after a defeat to Newcastle United on the final day - and, in January 2023, he was appointed manager of Everton on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
He managed 84 games for the Toffees, before being sacked on 9 January 2025 and, after just over nine months out of work, on 21 October, replaced Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest. His contract at the City Ground runs until the summer of 2027.
The Gameplan
With Sarah Clapson, Nottingham Post
Sarah Clapson, Nottingham Forest correspondent for Nottingham Post, has explained how Forest are likely to set up for Sunday's Premier League clash at Gtech Community Stadium.
"Sean Dyche has stuck with a similar formation for much of his tenure so far - he has gone with a 4-2-3-1," Sarah told brentfordfc.com earlier this week. "It is very much a Sean Dyche style of football, generally, as you got used to seeing at his previous clubs.
"Forest have played some good football under him in spells: the Liverpool game, against Porto, and against Spurs.
"But he has very much tried to focus on keeping them tight at the back, making sure they are solid and getting back to what they were good at last season in not conceding many goals and being a really tight defensive unit. There is still a bit of work to do on that, though."
Last Premier League starting XI v Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenković, Murillo, Williams; Sangaré, Anderson; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Domínguez; Jesus
Team news
Andrews hopeful on Henderson involvement
Keith Andrews provided an update on Jordan Henderson ahead of Sunday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest.
The midfielder missed the Chelsea game last Saturday, having picked up an ankle injury in the 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup earlier this month.
"Everyone has come through the Chelsea game pretty well," revealed Andrews. "It's been a few days since then - we've trained well and we're pretty good on that front.
"Jordan [Henderson] has been back on the grass, and hopefully he'll be involved."
Josh Dasilva (knee ligament) remains sidelined, while Fábio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo will both miss the rest of the campaign due to ACL injuries.
Match Officials
Barrott back at Brentford
Referee: Sam Barrott
Assistants: Adam Nunn and Wade Smith
Fourth official: Dean Whitestone
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Sam Barrott made his Premier League refereeing debut during the 2023/24 season - Fulham’s 3-1 victory over Sheffield United - having previously worked in the EFL and National League.
The West Riding-based official has taken charge of 17 games across all competitions this campaign, showing 67 yellow cards and one red.
Barrott was the man in the middle for Brentford's 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium in December.
Memorable Meeting
Nottingham Forest 0 Brentford 2 (Premier League, 1 May 2025)
A goal in each half secured Brentford an impressive 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
The first came courtesy of Kevin Schade. A wonderful pass over the top from Nathan Collins was picked up by the chasing forward inside the area, who beat Ola Aina to the ball and poked past Matz Sels to put the visitors ahead.
Brentford doubled their lead with 20 minutes to go. In a similar vein to the first goal, Mark Flekken launched a ball over the top for Yoane Wissa, who controlled and superbly chipped over the goalkeeper, before wheeling away to celebrate with the travelling fans.
That win secured all three points for the Bees.