Brentford welcome Nottingham Forest to the Gtech on Saturday afternoon, knowing that a win could well lift the Bees to sixth in the Premier League table. The visitors, meanwhile, will be doing everything in their power to move further clear of Manchester City in the quest to consolidate their own Champions’ League spot. Nick Bruzon previews.
The year is 2024 and none of the above is a typo. Liverpool and Chelsea may be going toe-to-toe in the battle for top spot but elsewhere, the league about as exciting and open as it has ever been.
Brentford’s role in proceedings has, as we are all now well familiar, been that quite fantastic run of home form. No bad thing given how things have been on the road, with the week just gone offering up little respite. Sunday’s 2-1 reverse at Chelsea was one in which the team played really well, once they got going. An over-cautious start giving little wiggle room when chasing the game after conceding just before half-time.
Then there was Wednesday’s League Cup game at Newcastle United. It was always going to be a tough one and with fixture congestion in mind – this being a third game in 7(seven) days before we even get to the Christmas congestion – no surprise that Thomas made changes.
A still very decent-looking team were no match for Eddie Howe’s decision to go full-tilt in a bid to bring some long-sought silverware to St. James Park. The subsequent 3-1 defeat probably the least of Brentford’s concern with Sepp van den Berg being injured in the warm-up and then Ethan Pinnock limping off before we’d even reached the quarter-hour mark.
Neither will be available for Saturday, with Thomas Frank using Thursday’s press conference to tell journalists, “Sepp has got a minor groin injury. It will likely be too quick for Saturday but we will see over the next 36 hours……Ethan, we don’t know the full picture, but when it is a hamstring injury we are probably looking at a longer one”.
Whether Thomas sticks to his favoured combination of two centre-backs or opts for a third remains to be seen. Will Ben Mee have the legs to begin a second successive game or might Kris Ajer partner Nathan Collins? Could all three start in one form or another? Whether as a back four with KLP or a five with Mads Roerslev playing outside? At least Christian Norgaard is fit after missing the trip to the North-East and will provide much-needed respite.
One thing we’ve learned about Thomas is that nobody can second-guess him, so I won’t even begin to try here. Besides, it will likely come down to goals scored rather than prevented if the Bees want to make it eight wins from nine at the Gtech.
Only Chelsea and Spurs have found the back of the net more often than Brentford this season. Bryan Mbeumo and Wissa are very much on fire whilst there is plenty of support from the rest of the midfield. That’s before we heap further praise on KLP whose transformation into an attacking wing-back has brought much-needed joy to a left flank still missing Rico Henry.
For the visitors, fourth place in the Premier League table speaks volumes about how well they are going. Last weekend’s late, late turnaround after being 1-0 down to Aston Villa was about as relentless as it comes. Prior to this, they’d won 3-2 at Manchester United to arrest a flurry of defeats against high-calibre opponents (Arsenal, Newcastle, City) punctuated only by the bettering of Ipswich.
The bottom line is that they are dangerous. Chris Wood is tied fourth with Bryan Mbeumo in the Premier League scorer’s chart, while the visitors are the only team to beat leader Liverpool this season. They achieved this at Anfield, so don’t go into this game thinking that home form is anything Forest will be scared of.
At the same time though, the Bees have done enough at home to warrant a very healthy respect from anybody stepping on to the Gtech pitch. Whatever defensive refresh may be needed to the usual starting XI, get it right going forwards and Brentford should still have too much in the tank to come out on top.
If ever there was a time home advantage could be crucial then it is now. Victory would take the Bees within just two points of fourth-placed Forest. Anybody looking for further incentive to raise the roof has it right there.
This game should be a real Christmas cracker (too soon?) and I can’t wait. Bring it on and see you there.
