So far, Brentford and Nottingham Forest are in very different positions in the Premier League. Brentford are continuing their ascent, and with one loss in eight matches, they’re flirting with a top-five finish. Forest, once an ascendant club, have fallen over the past couple of seasons and have pulled only one win from eight Premier League matches this season. Will Forest turn their fortunes around and grab an important three points? Or will Brentford keep up the momentum in front of their home crowd?
Brentford is a +105 moneyline favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, with a +270 draw. Nottingham Forest’s moneyline is set at +245.
Brentford vs. Nottingham Forest Pick, Best Bet
Few clubs have a more well-rounded style of play than the Bees. They’re rock-solid defensively, play well through the middle, and have some of the best wide-area attacking in all of pro football. Now that Igor Thiago has settled in, they have the finishing to complement their chance creation, making them extremely dangerous going up the pitch.
Vitaly Janelt has been the key man. He’s extremely active defensively, leading the team in interceptions while piling up plenty of tackles. His passing through the middle has been key, springing their wide-area attack with ease on the counter. And when he gets a chance, the central midfielder knows how to deliver.
Mikkel Damsgaard is crucial to this matchup. Forest have been vulnerable through the middle, and he’s deadly when he overlaps back into the center. If they’re forced to push out wide to account for Jaidon Anthony, Kevin Schade, and Keane Lewis-Potter, that gives Damsgaard room to work inside and cause damage.
Attack has been a huge problem for Forest this season. Across nine competitive matches this year, Forest have been held off the scoresheet on a shocking five occasions. Outside of Morgan Gibbs-White and Dan Ndoye, they’re not getting any production from the top of the formation. Liam Delap and Igor Jesus have been a highly disappointing forward duo, and they’re not getting the kind of attacking pressure they want from Neco Williams and Daniel Muñoz out of the wing-back spots. And it sure doesn’t help matters that Ndoye and Jesus are both banged up at the moment.
The back line has been strong, giving them a fighting chance against the Bees. Murillo remains one of the league’s most underrated center backs and provides a steadying presence at the back. They’ve kept things clean in front of Matz Sels despite being near the bottom in possession time; they’ll have to be comfortable playing on the back foot once again in this match.
Our main question is what the Bees do with majority possession. Playing off the ball has benefited their wide-area attack; in this matchup, Forest will likely sit deeper, forcing Brentford to win in tighter spaces. A big advantage they have going is their ability to cross from the boundaries, and they can rain a relentless bombardment of crosses onto Forest’s defense. For me, that’s the difference: Brentford can bomb away and cycle the ball relentlessly until they break through. On top of that, their seasoned defense can sit back, conserve energy and clean up any Forest attack. It will be a grind, but Brentford will come away with all three points.
