Preview: Brentford (H)

10 April 2018

Nottingham Forest return to action this evening as they welcome Brentford to The City Ground in the Sky Bet Championship (kick-off 7:45pm).

Aitor Karanka's side will be looking for a positive result after two away losses on the bounce against Millwall and Middlesbrough, as they return to The City Ground after a month since the last home game.

Brentford are not out of the play-off picture just yet after two important 1-0 wins against Bristol City at Ashton Gate before the victory over Ipswich Town by the same margin on Saturday saw them move just five points off the top six, and they will provide another tough test for The Reds this evening.

See below for the pre-match views of Aitor Karanka.

Aitor Karanka

Team News

Aitor Karanka may be tempted to make a few changes to his side after slipping to a second consecutive defeat on Saturday and a growing injury list.

Daryl Murphy, Matty Cash, Joe Worrall and David Vaughan are all likely to miss out on the visit of Brentford with the heavy fixture list taking its toll.

From the opposition

Brentford boss Dean Smith is pleased to see his side adapting to different games in recent weeks which has seen The Bees win their last two games.

Smith's side are now five points off the play-offs with five games remaining and he is looking forward to taking on The Reds.

He said: "We didn't play particularly well (on Saturday) but we have dogged one out which is what you need to be successful. There is no one way that wins football games.

"The gap is still the same but we have gone up a place. We just have to look to the next game and try to win it.

"It seems a long time ago now that their centre-midfielder scored two fantastic strikes on the day that I have not seen him score since. It was just one of those games for us.

"It was typical of the start to the season where we played so well but didn't get the right result. It is nice to go to Nottingham Forest with two wins on the bounce and four unbeaten."

One to watch - Neal Maupay

Striker Neil Maupay has fired his side into play-off contention in recent weeks, scoring both goals in their last two 1-0 wins.

The Frenchman, who linked up with The Bees last summer, is Brentford's top scorer this season with 12 goals so far, with one of those coming as a late consolation in our 4-3 win at Griffin Park earlier in the campaign.

Last time out

Tickets

Tickets are still available with fantastic prices across the ground. It's Kids for a Quid while students can watch the game for just £5.

Click here for full details.

Coverage

There will be a live broadcast of the game on iFollow Forest for international subscribers, with audio commentary also available.

There will also be full coverage via the club's official social media channels and in the Match Centre.

Other fixtures

All fixtures to be played at 7.45pm on Tuesday unless otherwise stated:

Aston Villa v Cardiff 
Bristol City v Birmingham 
Burton v Hull 
Fulham v Reading
 Ipswich v Barnsley 
Preston v Leeds 
QPR v Sheffield Wednesday 
Sheffield United v Middlesbrough 
Sunderland v Norwich 
Bolton v Millwall (8pm)
 Wolves v Derby (Wednesday, 7.45pm)

Match Reports

Forest 0-1 Brentford

10 April 2018

A late goal condemned Nottingham Forest to defeat against Brentford at The City Ground this evening.

An 81st-minute header from Henrik Dalsgaard was enough to secure the win for The Bees on a frustrating evening for The Reds who hit the woodwork on three separate occasions.

Aitor Karanka made two changes to the side that lost at Middlesbrough on Saturday with Adlene Guedioura and Ben Brereton replacing Kieran Dowell and Apostolos Vellios while Matty Cash also returned to take his place on the substitutes' bench.

Brentford started the better of the two sides, quickly moving the ball around, but it was Forest who carved out the first opportunity. A stunning ball across field from Danny Fox found Joe Lolley who cut inside and fired a shot towards goal forcing Brentford goalkeeper Daniel Bentley into a good save.

That chance sprung Forest into life and they had another good opportunity when space opened up for Lee Tomlin who raced forward and fired a thumping effort towards Bentley who just about managed to parry it away.

Brentford had a shout for a penalty soon after when Romaine Sawyers went down inside the area as The Bees broke forward, but referee Andy Davies waved away the appeals from the visiting side. Some good work between Tendayi Darikwa and Lolley carved out another opening for the home side on 18 minutes as Lolley flashed it across goal with Ben Watson edging his effort just wide.

Everyone thought Forest had scored on 24 minutes when Brereton curled an effort onto the bar. The youngster found some space on the edge of the area and fired a brilliant strike goalwards which bounced off the bar with The Reds looking for an opening in an end-to-end contest. Then it was Brentford's turn to come close when some neat football played through Neal Maupay who could only put his shot into the arms of Costel Pantilimon.

Another chance came and went for Aitor Karanka's side on 37 minutes as Forest hit the woodwork again. The ball fell to Guedioura inside the area who turned and shot with his effort flashing across the face of goal, clipping the outside of the far post as the two sides went in level at the break.

Brereton nearly got The Reds off to a dream start in the second half when he was played through on goal. The striker raced forward but lost his composure at the vital moment and failed to get his shot away, allowing the visitors to clear. Then Forest hit the woodwork again as they continued to build the pressure. A stunning diagonal ball from Darikwa fell straight into Tomlin's path who brought it down and cannoned it off the post.

Brentford responded well however, with Dalsgaard racing down the flank before pulling it back to Sergi Canos who placed his effort into the side netting. The Bees' top scorer Neal Maupay looked lively for the visitors and he nearly opened the scoring on 57 minutes when the ball fell to him in the box but he failed to connect with his shot.

A rather quiet next 15 minutes would follow with both sides failing to take the game by the scruff of the neck. But The City Ground were on their feet when Lee Tomlin was bundled over in the area but once again the referee waved away any protests.

As the game moved into the final ten minutes, it could have gone either way but it was Brentford who got the goal in the 81st minute. A corner from the left wasn't dealt with, leaving Henrik Dalsgaard free to head home into the bottom right-hand corner.

Substitute Matty Cash was trying to make things happen for his side when he raced down the flank, beating his man, before cutting it back to fellow sub Vellios inside the area, but the striker's shot was blocked and Forest couldn't find a breakthrough.

Another frustrating game for Forest would end in a 1-0 defeat with Ipswich Town next up at The City Ground on Saturday.

Forest: Pantilimon, Darikwa, Figueiredo, Fox, Osborn, Watson (c), Colback, Tomlin (Cash 76'), Guedioura (Vellios 82'), Lolley, Brereton

Unused subs: Kapino, Lichaj, Mancienne, Bridcutt, McKay

Bookings: Guedioura 52', Darikwa 55'

Brentford: Bentley, Dalsgaard, Egan (c), Bjelland, Clarke, McEachran, Sawyers, Yennaris (Mokotjo 78'), Watkins (Ogbene 67'), Canos (Marcondes 66'), Maupay

Unused subs: Daniels, MacLeod, Barbet, Mepham

Goal: Dalsgaard 81'

Referee: Andy Davies

Attendance: 20,596 (519 away)