Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi, both of Nottingham Forest’s center forwards, scored for the Tricky Trees on Sunday as Sean Dyche’s side secured a massive 2-0 victory away to Brentford on Sunday.
WATCH — Brentford v Nottingham Forest full match replay
That’s two wins and a draw in Forest’s last three games, right on the heels of losing four straight, to keep themselves five points clear of the relegation zone even though 18th-place West Ham have won two in a row. Forest (25 points) are now level on points with Leeds (16th) with the Whites still to play on Monday (3 pm ET, at Everton).
Jesus made it 1-0 in the 12th minute, chesting the ball down, turning and firing a right-footed shoot past Caoimhin Kelleher from a tight angle. Brentford had all of the ball and all of the chances in the second half and Forest hadn’t had a single touch of the ball in the Bees’ box, before the 80th minute when Awoniyi raced free down the right wing and scored all by himself.
What’s next?
- Nottingham Forest vs Ferencvaros — Thursday, 3 pm ET (UEFA Europa League)
- Aston Villa vs Brentford — Sunday, 9 am ET
- Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace — Sunday, 9 am ET
Brentford vs Nottingham Forest live updates - by Andy Edwards
Brentford vs Nottingham Forest live score: 0-2
Goalscorers: Igor Jesus (12'), Taiwo Awoniyi (79')
GOAL! Brentford 0-2 Forest: Awoniyi goes it alone and puts the game to bed (79')
GOAL! Brentford 0-1 Forest: Jesus chests it down, turns and fires home (12')
Brentford starting lineup
Kelleher - Kayode, Ajer, Collins, Henry - Yarmoliuk, Janelt, Damsgaard - Jensen, Schade, Thiago
Nottingham Forest starting lineup
Sels - Aina, Milenkovivc, Murillo, Williams - Sangare, Anderson, Gibbs-White - Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Jesus
How to watch Brentford vs Nottingham Forest live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9am ET Sunday
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium — West London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
Keith Andrews’ Bees lost at Chelsea last time out to snap a six-match unbeaten run which included four wins and propelled them, however briefly, into the top five. This meeting with 17th-place Forest represents the calm before a storm of three-straight European competitors dot their fixture list: Aston Villa, Newcastle, and Arsenal.
Forest are five points clear of the bottom three right now thanks to a recent win at West Ham and draw with Arsenal, but things are uneasy at the City Ground. Sean Dyche and his Tricky Trees lost at second-tier Wrexham in the FA Cup earlier his month, and are coming off a Thursday loss at Braga in the Europa League which leaves them outside the top eight to add two more fixtures to their calendar next month.
Brentford have been quite good but Forest are eyeing their next four fixtures as a good chance to improve their points haul by quite a bit. Palace, Leeds, and Wolves are next on the docket.
Brentford team news, focus
OUT: Antoni Milambo (knee), Fabio Carvalho (torn ACL), Josh Dasilva (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Frank Onyeka (international duty return - AFCON), Jordan Henderson (ankle)
Nottingham Forest team news, focus
OUT: John Victor (knee), Chris Wood (knee) | QUESTiONABLE: igor Jesus (knock)
Brentford vs Nottingham Forest prediction
The Bees will be fresh and Forest have to rally their attack after consecutive shutouts (albeit versus good sides in Arsenal and Braga). But Dyche teams know how to dig in and this could well be a game with very few truly dangerous chances. Long throws, maybe? Brentford 1-1 Forest.
