There is just the one Premier League match to enjoy on Sunday with the main broadcaster choosing to allow the Ryder Cup to have the peak time spotlight so Nottingham Forest and Brentford get the top flight stage to themselves.
Both teams begin the match in the bottom half of the table but can significantly enhance their position with a win, while the team which loses will just be cautious as we approach the next international break.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Premier League channel with the City Ground build-up beginning at 1.30pm ahead of a 2pm kick off.
Nottingham Forest
There wasn’t much talk around it heading into the season but Nottingham Forest will have been keen for the second season syndrome not to strike and they have made an acceptable start with that in mind. They have seven points from their opening six matches and when you consider they have lost arguably their most important player in that time and are bedding a new set of players into the squad I don’t think too many of a Forest persuasion will be disappointed with that.
It was the home form which kept Forest in the league last year and so it is probably significant that in just two home games this term the Tricky Trees are still unbeaten at the City Ground. They have a win over Sheffield United here and a draw with Burnley so you could argue they are not the toughest assignments and also that they made hard work of those games but this is clearly a team who enjoy their home surroundings as much as any.
Brentford
It is probably to the credit of Brentford and what they have done over the last couple of seasons that some judges are getting a little concerned at the fact that they have only won one of their opening six matches. That form comes with the narrative that they are missing their talisman Ivan Toney for the first half of the season and the longer they go without looking convincing the more the doubts and concerns are going to grow.
The good thing for Brentford in this match is that their only win this term has come on the road but even that was against a Fulham side who were down to 10 men. The big problem for the Bees has been a seeming inability to win at home and having played four home matches that is a concern. You sense Brentford are going to improve as the season goes on but it doesn’t take a lot for the negative noise to grow in this league so they could do with a convincing showing here.
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Team News
Nottingham Forest will definitely be without the services of Danilo and Felipe and they will have to assess the fitness of Nuno Tavares after a groin issue cut short his full debut in the loss at Manchester City last weekend.
Brentford will remain without Ivan Toney for this match as he continues his ban while long-term injury victims Rico Henry, Mikkel Damsgaard and Kevin Schade are all out as are Josh Dasilva and Ben Mee.
Betting
I can’t say that I trust either of these defences. We are still fairly early into the season and there are more goals in this league than normal, potentially because of the new time rules, but these two defensive units don’t look the best even on paper. The Forest defence is carrying too many players susceptible to pace for my liking while the Brentford one is without a big piece of it in Ben Mee and is still adjusting to not having David Raya behind them.
That is all reflected in the records this term. Forest have played six matches and their only clean sheet came against an impotent Chelsea side. Among those games have been outings against Sheffield United and Burnley, both of whom scored on this team. Brentford have also played six matches this season and their only clean sheet came against a 10-man Fulham who possess nothing like the same attacking threat without Aleksandar Mitrovic. Brentford have conceded five goals in two matches against Everton and Bournemouth this term so I can’t trust these defences. Both teams to score landed in both meetings last season and I see no evidence of why it won’t land here.
Tips
Back Both teams to score for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
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