Brentford vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Andrews' Vertical Attack Targets Fragile Forest Defence

Brentford sit sixth with 11 points from eight matches and a goal difference of +5, whereas Nottingham Forest are 18th with six points and a goal difference of -4. One side is chasing Europe, the other is trying not to get sucked into a relegation fight before October is out.

There is no prior managerial head to head between Keith Andrews and Oliver Glasner. Andrews took charge at Brentford in June 2025 after Thomas Frank departed, inheriting and sharpening the club's direct, vertical style. Glasner arrived at Forest on 6 July 2026 after Vítor Pereira left a club that had cycled through managers at a disorienting rate.

Brentford's last five across all competitions tell a mixed story with one win from five: a 1-1 draw at Hull on 25 October and a 1-2 home loss to Liverpool on the 17th bookending a 2-3 Carabao Cup exit at Sunderland on the 28th. Those results suggest a side still finding its footing without Frank, not yet ruthless enough to turn chances into wins. Forest's league record is worse, with one win from eight games. A 1-1 draw with Ipswich in late October was among their better results and the pattern since is of games they should have nicked that slipped away.

Brentford go into this with real midfield and left back problems. Yegor Yarmoliuk is suspended after his red card against Liverpool, Joshua Dasilva is out with a thigh injury and Rico Henry has a hip problem. That is three players who would normally define how Brentford move through the thirds stripped out at once, putting extra weight on Keane Lewis-Potter to make the overlapping runs that stretch Forest's left side and create Brentford's second phase chances.

Forest are dealing with comparable absences. Nicolo Savona is ruled out long term with a knee injury, Igor Jesus misses out through a calf problem and Neco Williams is doubtful with an arm issue. Those three cover the right wing back slot, the main striking role and a winger whose pressing runs are part of how Forest set their defensive block, which matters a great deal given that Glasner's 3-4-2-1 demands aggressive pressing from the front and compact defending behind it. Without Jesus to press from the front and Williams to cover in transition, Glasner has no clean answer to the problem.

Brentford play a 4-2-3-1 built around direct, vertical movement and set piece delivery. Kevin Schade leads the attack with three league goals, using his pace to run in behind Forest's back line and target the channels behind a high defensive block, while Igor Thiago occupies defenders physically. Without Yarmoliuk's defensive midfield cover and Henry's overlap at left back, Lewis-Potter will need to do more than usual, though the direct approach does not require a full cast to function. Forest rely on Morgan Gibbs-White to connect everything in the final third and Dan Ndoye to get in behind opposition back lines from wide positions, while Liam Delap holds up play as the central striker, a role that will be harder to sustain without Jesus alongside him. Williams' doubt is not purely a defensive concern either: if Brentford get Schade in behind early on a set piece second ball, the right wing back channel that Forest's reduced options leave exposed becomes the obvious target.

Forest have won the last two Premier League meetings: 3-1 at the City Ground in August 2025 and 2-0 at Brentford in January 2026. The longer record between the clubs is roughly level, so those two results are a data point rather than a settled pattern.

Brentford's set piece delivery has been responsible for a sizeable share of their attacking output this season and Forest's defensive absences leave them exposed to exactly the kind of near post delivery and second ball aggression Brentford generate from dead balls. With Williams doubtful and Savona out, those wing back outlets on the other end are limited.

Brentford to win 1-0. Forest's situation is straightforwardly uncomfortable: one league win from eight games, a depleted back three, their primary striker absent and a trip to a side whose direct style, with Schade running the channels and set piece aggression as a constant threat, targets exactly the space those absences leave uncovered. The home side's missing players are real losses too but they are positional gaps Andrews can shuffle around. Without Jesus to press from the front and Williams to cover behind, Glasner cannot run the system he needs to keep the score down on the road. A set piece goal and Forest unable to find a response through disrupted pressing channels is how this ends 1-0.