Brentford vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Honours even in West London

Brentford welcome Nottingham Forest to the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday evening (17:30) in a potential relegation six-pointer.

The Bees were on the wrong end of a five-goal thriller against Wolverhampton Wanderers in their FA Cup third-round replay in midweek, while Forest needed extra-time to prevail against Blackpool on Wednesday.

Team News

Brentford will be without Saman Ghoddos, Frank Onyeka and Yoane Wissa as they are on international duty, while Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade are all sidelined through injury. Most notbaly, Thomas Frank has confirmed that Ivan Toney will return from suspension here, and will lead out the Bees as captain.

Forest are missing Ola Aina, Serge Aurier, Willy Boly, Cheikhou Kouyate, Moussa Niakhate and Ibrahim Sangare due to their international commitments, and Taiwo Awoniyi and Felipe are both unavailable as they continue to recover from groin and thigh problems respectively.

Match Odds

The Bees are odds-on at 10/11 to claim the three points, the draw is 13/5 and Forest are 11/4 to make it back-to-back away wins in the league.

Ivan Toney is favourite to score anytime at 11/10, while both teams to score can be backed at 8/11.

Draw @ 13/5

Both Brentford and Nottingham Forest are sitting dangerously close to the Premier League relegation zone heading into this clash, with the visitors occupying 15th, just a place and point above their hosts.

Brentford's recent dip in form has been alarming, as they've lost their last five league encounters on the spin, while exiting the FA Cup in extra-time at the hands of Wolves during the week.

Forest's victory against Blackpool in their FA Cup tie also went to extra-time, so I'm expecting fatigue to play a part in Saturday's matchup, and I think the sides are difficult to separate.

A quick glance at the form book would suggest that Forest would have the edge, but the visitors have only won three of their 29 Premier League away matches since returning to the top flight.

Given their struggles, the Bees can't be trusted either, although they'll be hoping the return of Ivan Toney will hand them a boost. Three of the four previous meetings between these two sides have ended all-square, including their clash at the City Ground earlier this season, which ended 2-2.

Chris Wood to score anytime @ 5/2

The arrival of Nuno Espirito Santo has allowed Chris Wood to rediscover his best form, and the New Zealand international has scored five in five under his new boss.

The 32-year-old netted the winner against Blackpool in midweek, and bagged a hat-trick in Forest's last away game at Newcastle. He certainly looks to be Forest's main scoring threat heading into Saturday's match.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.

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