Nottingham Forest vs Brentford Prediction: Elanga can sting the Bees again

Nottingham Forest's 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Easter Monday felt like a huge moment in their Premier League season. The Tricky Trees are currently outside of the top five on goal difference, so they will want to capitalise on their game in hand against Brentford at the City Ground on Thursday (19:30, Sky Sports Main Event).

The Bees head to the East Midlands unbeaten in their last three matches in the top flight, with their latest encounter being a 4-2 victory at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on April 19. Read on for my Nottingham Forest vs Brentford predictions, accompanied by the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Forest's Ola Aina has been instrumental in their season so far but he has been out of action with a calf injury he picked up against Manchester United earlier this month. The Nigerian has said that his recovery is going well and he is hopeful he can return to action before the season comes to an end. However, it seems like the hosts are going to be without him on Thursday.

Young defender Eric da Silva Moreira has been out of action for over a month after picking up an unspecified problem while representing Germany Under-19s. Zach Abott made his second start for the Tricky Trees in their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City on Sunday but he was forced off with 10 minutes to go, and he is considered a doubt for the visit of Brentford.

Nuno Espirito Santo went with a 4-4-2 shape at Wembley but he is expected to go back to his usual 4-2-3-1 system, which will likely result in Anthony Elanga returning to the starting XI.

Brentford make the trip to the East Midlands having had a longer rest than their hosts, so they may have an extra spring in their step.

Thomas Frank is still having to cope without Aaron Hickey (thigh) and Igor Thiago (knee) despite the pair making progress in their recoveries. Josh Dasilva (knee) and Fabio Carvalho (shoulder) are also out of action for the Bees.

Michael Kayode replaced Kristoffer Ajer at right-back against Brighton last time out, and the Fiorentina loanee may keep his place in the team for this clash.

Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa both scored against the Seagulls to take their Premier League tallies to 18 and 16 respectively, and both are set to feature in attack once again.

Nottingham Forest vs Brentford Odds

Forest have won four of their last six home games in the league and they are 6/5 to come out on top on Thursday. They also defeated Brentford 2-0 in the reverse fixture back in December.

The visitors have drawn two of their past three fixtures in the top flight and the stalemate is on offer at 5/2. Brentford are 23/10 to come away with the three points, which they have achieved in five of their previous seven away trips.

At least one team has failed to score in each of the last five league games held at the City Ground and BTTS - No is available at 5/4, which has an implied probability of 44.4%.

Nottingham Forest to win @ 6/5

After a disappointing defeat at Wembley on Sunday, Forest have a relatively quick turnaround as they look to make the most of their game in hand in the race to finish in the top five and return prestigious European football to Nottinghamshire.

The Tricky Trees earned a hard-fought victory at Tottenham in their latest league appearance, which ended a two-game losing streak. The Reds are back on home soil on Thursday and will be up for the fight that Brentford are bound to bring, as they themselves still have a slight chance of finishing among the European places with five games to go.

The Bees' star attackers of Mbeumo and Wissa pose a threat, but so do Forest's front stars of Chris Wood, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Morgan Gibbs-White and Elanga. The Tricky Trees have been tough to chop down at the City Ground this campaign, losing just 18% (3/16) of their league contests here.

There has been just one defeat inside this ground in their last 10 fixtures in the top flight, while they have won seven during that time. The onus will be on the hosts to make the most of this game on home turf, and after disappointment last weekend I'm expecting them to rise to the challenge on Thursday and secure a huge three points.

Anthony Elanga anytime goalscorer @ 11/4

Elanga looks set to come back into the Forest team on Thursday, and although he had a run out at Wembley, he will have fresher legs than his attacking teammates. This could pose problems for Brentford because Elanga's pace and trickery has given defenders nightmares at times this season.

They know of this firsthand as the winger scored against them at the Gtech Community Stadium in the reverse fixture back in December. The Swede currently has eight goals and nine assists in the Premier League, and only Wood (19) has scored more for the Tricky Trees.

Elanga has been having a great season and I believe he can further add to it with another goal in this big clash with Brentford.

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