Nottingham Forest host Brentford on Thursday hoping to climb back to third in the Premier League table with a win.
WATCH — Nottingham Forest v Brentford
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have kept up with Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea and Co. in the hunt for the final three Champions League spots. They won 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur last time out in the Premier League but did lose 2-0 in the FA Cup semifinal to Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday. It will be intriguing to see how they bounce back from that and they now have five games to achieve something truly incredible as they chase Champions League qualification.
Brentford are chasing European qualification as they’re locked in a scrap for eighth place with Bournemouth, Fulham and Brighton. The Bees beat Brighton 4-2 last time out as the incredible attacking duo of Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo continue to deliver. Eighth place isn’t guaranteed Europe but it could well be and a win in this game in-hand would put them right in the mix.
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Brentford live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 2:30pm ET Thursday (May 1)
Venue: City Ground — Nottingham
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Nottingham Forest team news, focus
Forest had plenty of issues at full back for their recent semifinal against Man City with both Ola Aina (injury) and Neco Williams (suspension) missing out but Williams will be back for this one. Chris Wood has been battling back from injury and may need to be nursed through the final weeks of the season, while Anthony Elanga looked really good off the bench on Sunday and will surely start this game. Expect captain Ryan Yates to come straight back into the team too as the midfielder was suspended for the semifinal.
QUESTIONABLE: Eric da Silva Moreira (ankle), Ola Aina (calf)
Brentford team news, focus
The Bees have dealt with injuries all season long but they finally have plenty of key players back and their recent return to form proves that. Mbeumo and Wissa are such a handful in attack, while their experienced core in midfield and defense is so crucial to how savvy they are as they can hang in games and then pounce.
OUT: Fabio Carvalho (shoulder), Igor Thiago (knee), Josh Dasilva (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Yunus Konak (head), Aaron Hickey (thigh)
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford prediction
This feels like it has a draw written all over it. Expect a game dominated by counter attacks and set pieces and it should be fun. Nottingham Forest 2-2 Brentford.