Brentford head to Nottingham Forest on Thursday evening for a game which will have major ramifications in the race for next season’s European places. Nick Bruzon previews.
All focus in this one would seem to be on Nuno Espirito Santo and his team. After blazing a trail in the Champions’ League places for so long, all of a sudden they’re on the outside of the tent looking in. Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United have all overtaken a Forest side who now find themselves sixth in the table with five left to play.
I’m sure supporters will point to the fact that everybody else has played an extra game. Win this one and Forest go back to third, with all clubs having completed game week 34. Further potential coming from the fact that, if we are being totally honest, Forest were one of the best set up teams to come to the Gtech this season. Totally disciplined and deserving of what ultimately transpired to be Brentford’s first home defeat of the season just before Christmas.
Ifs, buts and maybes. There’s an old adage that suggests points in the bag are better than games in hand. It’s true. Never more so than now with The Tricky Trees going into it off the back of that gruelling FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.
Whilst there were plenty of opportunities, the Manchester City goal led a charmed life. “Its almost as if there’s clingfilm across the line”, noted one North Stand observer I was following the match with.
True though it was, chances need to be taken. Instead the hosts now find themselves in a situation where the stakes will now be even higher than ever in every game.
No doubt they’ll be looking to (cliché alert) take each one as it comes but with Nuno sounding coy on fitness concerns in Tuesday’s press conference – “There are a lot of players to assess, it was a very demanding game, a lot of players finished with cramp, so we will see,” – could the door be open for Brentford?
Any thoughts of revenge for December will be nothing but secondary consideration for Thomas. Instead, let’s look to the lure of the ‘game in hand’. Should the Bees get the win then the gap to eighth-placed Fulham shrinks to just 2. We all know the European places could run deep this season and with hapless Manchester United visiting the Gtech on Sunday, there is probably as much incentive for Thomas Frank’s side to put in one final push.
The bad news is that they’ll have to do this without Vitaly Janelt. The club confirming on Tuesday that he will now be out for the remainder of this season following an operation on his heel. The good news for the Bees is another chance for Yehor Yarmoliuk to stake a claim for a longer term berth in the Brentford midfield.
In short, it’ll more than likely be the same team that started against Brighton when the Seagulls were thumped 4-2 last time out. The only potential tweaks being, firstly, whether Thomas reverts to the experience of Kris Ajer over the raw talent of Michael Kayode at right back. For what it’s worth, I think he’ll make the switch.
Then there’s Kevin Schade, who has been a little hit and miss in recent weeks. Personally, I’d be inclined to stick with. He’s performed far better on the road and has the pace to terrify anyone. Especially a team under pressure (albeit of the most positive sort), smarting from the weekend and potentially having to rejig. Let him run at them and see what happens.
Darren England is our man in the middle. Craig Pawson is on VAR. You can hear the Stockley Park roulette wheel spinning already.
Regardless, this one has all the makings of an absolute cracker. Two teams with nothing to gain by sitting back and glory beyond their wildest dreams for whomever can end the campaign on a winning run.
Bring on Thursday when we find out who that might be…
