Nottingham Forest v Brentford

Brentford come out as 2-0 victors as, ultimately, the away side's clinical edge proved too much for Forest to withstand. Forest saw their chance of jumping up to third place take a crushing blow on 44 minutes as an uncharacteristic mix-up in defence allowed jet-heeled German, Kevin Schade the chance to sneak in and benefit, prodding home to make it 1-0. Elanga had been dangerous in the first half and was switched over to the left-wing in the second period in an attempt to get on terms. Early in the second period, Forest squeezed up the pitch and tried to impose themselves on their opponents, but it was the Bees who netted again from a similar long, straight ball to the first goal, that had Milenkovic scrambling under pressure from Wissa. The DR Congo international showed nerves of steel to gently lift the ball over the advancing Sels to double the lead and put the game out of reach for Forest. Santo's desperation for the win saw him introduce the big frame of Awoniyi alongside Wood up front, but the Brentford rearguard remained resolute and with Collins shepherding the backline expertly, Forest struggled to find a way back into the contest. Brentford's healthy xG of 1.65 showed their attacking prowess, and whilst Forest did have opportunities, their xG of 0.97 did not yield the desired result. Brentford move onto 49 points, whilst Forest remain on 60 points in sixth place. Thank you for joining us for tonight's commentary and goodnight.

FULL-TIME: FOREST 0-2 BRENTFORD

The stadium begins to empty as Mbeumo catapults a corner in from the right.

Humerous chants of, Forest give us a goal are thrown out by the soaked home faithful. It is definitely more in hope than expectation at this point.

We are into the first of four added minutes at the end here at The City Ground.

Cautious claims for a penalty are checked but dismissed as Williams is tripped as he ventures towards the Brentford box. It shows on the replay that the challenge was just outside the area.

Yet another yellow as Ajer tactically fouls his opponent to stop an attack.

A WONDERFUL CHANCE FOR MBEUMO!! A curling effort with his left foot drifts over the bar after Yarmoliuk ran across the face of the penalty area and fed him just inside the box and to the right of the goal. Mbeumo is annoyed with himself there. He should have hit the target.

Another wayward ball prompts groans from the home fans. Awoniyi has been largely anonymous since his introduction. It has been a roll of the dice that has again not paid off. Wood and Awoniyi are too similar.

Yates comes off to be replaced by Sosa. The Paraguay international has notched three goals in all competitions this term, with only one coming in the Premier League way back in September in the 2-2 draw with Brighton.

Kayode is brought off after a strong evening's work tonight at full-back. Ajer, who is making his 91st appearance for Brentford, comes on.

Turkish midfielder, Konak replaces the biggest creator in this Brentford side, Damsgaard. The Danish midfielder, Damsgaard has nine assists in the Premier League this term.

Kayode pushes the ball past Williams and attempts to go round him down the right-wing. That will be the full-back's last action in the game.

More changes are being made by Brentford here to slow the game down.

Can Brentford hold on? If they do, they will break the hoodoo endured that has seen them winless in their last ten PL midweek fixtures.

Elanga delivers a ball in from a free-kick on the Forest right. There was lots of movement on the ball, but the hushed response from the crowd is in response to the whistle being blown for offside. Santo shakes his head in disbelief. Time is running out.

Aina-just returning from injury-has been up and down the flank all evening and has earned himself a rest with Forest bringing on Sangare for extra legs in the last 15 minutes.

Santo brings off Gibbs-White for Silva in midfield as he looks to stem the Brentford tide somewhat.

A long and hopeful ball from back to front from Flekken earns him an assist. The ball bounces past Milenkovic, with the centre-back bizarrely leaving the ball to fall into Wissa's path.

Brentford make another sub. Jensen-another player who is part of the strong Scandinavian thread throughout the club-comes on for Schade as Frank looks for a little more insurance in the middle of the park.

MBEUMO SHOT BLOCKED BY YATES!! A dazzling run from Schade down the left sees him jink inside a couple of tired tackles to set up the Cameroonian, but Mbeumo's shot with the left boot is blocked by Yates, who flings himself to ground.

BIG CHANCE FOR WOOD!! Wood may see that as a missed chance as Aina glanced at the imposing forward at the back post and clipped a ball in. Wood did not seem to get off the ground too well and could only divert his header wide of the left-hand post.

The youthful Ukranian Yarmoliuk is booked for waving an imaginary yellow at the referee, asking for Williams to be cautioned.

Williams is booked for handball as Brentford try to break at speed.

Forest are going for broke with two up top now. Awoniyi comes on for midfielder, Anderson. The bulking forward has had to play second fiddle to Wood this season following the New Zealander’s excellent goal-scoring feats. Santo tried playing both number nines together earlier in the campaign against Fulham, but the experiment didn’t work as he had hoped.

INCHES AWAY FROM NORGAARD!! A dink into the box sees the Brentford enforcer strain everything to get his head on the ball but narrowly misses the flight of it. That could have spelled trouble for the home side had he made contact.

It looks like Awoniyi is being readied by Nuno Santo. Will he be brought on to play with Wood?

It is like a basketball game tonight as a ball whipped in from the Brentford right is cleared despite claims of a player being shoved in the back. The ball ends up at the other end as Forest break quickly, ending in a shot from Yates, whose dipping right-foot shot did not come down quickly enough to trouble the keeper.

Milenkovic eases his body into German attacker Schade who falls dramatically. The Brentford forward sees an opportunity to take a moment and rub his sore ankle.

CLOSE AGAIN FROM ELANGA!! The winger is easily the most dangerous player in red tonight. He races onto a ball inside the full-back Kayode, who treads water trying to keep up. Elanga nips inside the full-back and dances past van den Berg too, only to see his shot pushed away firmly by Flekken who got strong palms to the low shot that would have crept inside the far right post.

A cross is teased in from Anderson, who lurks on the edge of the area and to the left. His in-swinging ball eludes Wood...just going over his head. It goes out of play passing the far post without a touch.

Wood only touched the ball three times in the Brentford box in that first half. Can the home side supply him with better service this half? Elanga, who has switched flanks to the left, drives into the box from the wing, but instead of squaring, he slams a shot from an acute angle that Flekken is equal to. Anderson fails to capitalise on the follow-up, chipping into a crowded area. Van den Berg whacks clear.

The rain is absolutely lashing down now in Nottingham. That could make for some tricky decision making in defence.

Common sense sees Lewis-Potter withdrawn with Henry coming on in his place in a like-for-like swap. Henry has been an amazing servant for Brentford. Came up with them after five seasons in the Championship, making 206 appearances in the process.

A sub from Forest sees Dominguez on for the ineffective Hudson-Odoi. The steely style of Dominguez has enamoured him to Santo who has trusted him enough to feature him in 34 games across all competitions this season.

Back under way at The City Ground.

It will be interesting to see if either coach makes any changes early in the second half. Forest have caused problems but need to get Wood involved more regularly. For Brentford, Frank has to decide whether to take Lewis-Potter out of the line of fire after the full-back was yellwo carded and then targeted by Forest's tricky partneship of Aina and Elanga down the Forest right. Forest's live win probability has dropped from the pre-match percentage of 43.4% to just 14.3% now. Brentford's has rocketed from 30.9% to 61.1% currently, thanks to that Schade goal.

A breathless first 45 minutes has seen two teams who have come to win the match. Brentford, as expected, had a lot of the ball early, but Forest have looked dangerous and dynamic on the break, with Elanga in particular proving menacing down the Forest right. A spate of early yellow cards seemed out of place with the general flow of the game, although there were plenty of robust challenges. Just as it looked like it was going to be a stalemate at the break, Brentford landed the first significant blow, with Schade taking advantage of indecision at the back from Aina and Milenkovic to poke home the opener on 44 minutes.

HALF-TIME: FOREST 0-1 BRENTFORD

There will be three additional minutes at the end of the first period.

Centre-back, Collins had the freedom to stroll out of defence and pick the long ball over the top that caught out the Forest defence rather easily.

Norgaard is the latest Bees player to see yellow after play stops. Earlier in the sequence of events, Gibbs-White poked the ball away from the combative midfielder and was felled in the process.

Anderson is implored to shoot by the Forest fans. As he agrees and pulls the trigger, his finessed right-footed shot with his instep is gathered comfortably by Flekken.

Mbeumo rampages down the right-wing for what seems like the first time tonight. He is getting through lots of defensive work, but Brentford want him in that opposition box.

Four yellow cards have been issued already in this match. It is s keenly contested, but not overly aggressive so far. Darren England, tonight's official on the pitch has an average PL card count of 4.18 per game this season.

Mbeumo overruns the ball and slides to retrieve it but misses the ball. It really did not look dangerous enough to warrant a yellow, but nevertheless, that's what is awarded.

There is a definite ploy to isolate Lewis-Potter down Brentford's left. Aina and Elanga are doubling up wherever possible and attacking with dynamism.

A Gibbs-White cross that is hit with pace from the right byline is hacked away by a combination of Van den Berg and Flekken, who dives out from his six-yard box.

A corner from Forest as they look to add a bit of pressure on the Brentford goal. Elanga swings one away from goal, it comes all the way to Hudson-Odoi at the backstick. Eventually, the wide man-driven inside-gets it back to Elanga, who this time sends in a poorly executed in-swinger with his left foot that sails past everyone and out of play.

WOOD HEADER IS DIVERTED WIDE!! An arrow-like crossfield ball is drilled by Anderson from left to right. Elanga jumps high to head back into the danger zone where Wood is waiting to nod home. Unfortunately for the home side, Wood's header is deflected wide of the left post.

A breathless tempo has been set by both sides so far. It is end-to-end action and is just a matter of who lands the first blow.

Elanga slaloms his way into the box but is just stopped in time by Lewis-Potter. It looks as though it is now a ploy to exploit the brentford full-back who is on a disciplinary tightrope.

LEWIS-POTTER NEARLY SEES RED!! The whole ground are up in arms as Aina skips down the right again and tempts Lewis-Potter into a very late challenge. OFF, OFF, OFF!! Is the chant from the Forest faithful but the referee shakes his head. He won't be allowed another one though.

Two opposing strikers; both wearing number 11, both with names starting with ‘W’, and both having scored a hatful of goals this season. But which one will inspire their team to GET the ‘W’ this evening? Surely Wood and Wissa will have a bearing on tonight’s scoreline in one way or another.

Wissa is becoming increasingly involved in this encounter. The home side will not need reminding of his talent.

A silly lunge from Anderson earns him a caution after Mbeumo looked to have prodded the ball away from him. Wissa looks to benefit before Anderson lunges with his boot to prevent him escaping.

CLOSE FROM VAN DEN BERG!! SELS SAVES!! Damsgaard whips in a stunning ball from the right-hand side. Van den Berg sneaks in and gets a head to it, but Sels is alert and beats it away.

Wissa goes down under the challenge from Williams as he races down the Brentford right. Free-kick given.

Tentative penalty claims from the home team as Lewis-Potter fells Elanga. Nothing doing says the referee.

A strange free-kick routine fails from Forest after two players try to make it look like they left it to each other before crossing. It didn't beat the first man.

Another yellow is issued to Brentford's Lewis-Potter this time, who only had eyes for the player (Elanga). He launches into an aerial challenge with the winger and knocks him over blatantly. Easy yellow.

Forest's Gibbs-White seems a (little harshly) to have entered the referee's book with a late challenge. He protests profusely but is booked anyway.

That was better from Forest, who snapped into life after winning the ball from Mbeumo in the middle of the pitch. Aina skipped past the halfway line and past Lewis-Potter before sending in a cross that skips off the turf and evades Wood. It falls for Gibbs-White, who thinks about a first-time effort but instead turns inside and looks for the curler from the left edge of the box. The shot is blocked.

Forest’s style is so direct. In fact, they have the fewest amount of accurate passes per Premier League match with 259.7.

Brentford are having lots of the ball, but that is to be expected given Forest's strategy this season.

OUCH!! Lewis-Potter gets up well for a header, but rolls over the back of Elanga and lands firmly on his back taking the wind out of his sails. He is up and okay to carry on though.

An accomplished start from the visitors here. They have got in the faces of Forest and will look to attack often and at pace tonight.

ACROSS THE FACE FROM SCHADE!! That was a fabulous run from Brentford midfielder, Damsgaard down Forest's left. He feints a couple of times before delivering a beautiful curling ball to the back post. Schade leaps highest and heads back across goal, but nobody was there to turn it over the line and Murillo clears.

An early ball fizzed in from the right by Aina, but it is collected by Flekken. Oh how Forest have missed their right-back.

It is an extremely raucous atmsophere at The City Ground tonight. It will be fascinating to see who settles first.

Referee, Darren England sounds his whistle and gets the game started!

The home fans are in full voice as ever. They are hoping to serenade their team to victory tonight in the race for Champions League places. The players are on the pitch and we are nearing the start of this clash.

Brentford boss, Thomas Frank, names an unchanged line-up following the 4-2 dismantling of Brighton in their last match. That means that they will again call upon the forward line of Mbeumo and Wissa, who have 34 goals between them in this Premier League campaign. Collins, who has played every single minute of Brentford's Premier League season, starts at the heart of the defence once more, joined by van den Berg, who partners the Ireland centre-back.

Aina is back in the starting eleven for Forest. The right-back, who has had a stellar season, provides a huge pre-match boost for the Reds, returning from injury after withdrawing midway through the 1-0 win against Man Utd on April 1st. He takes the place of Toffolo, who deputised in defence, with Williams reverting to his customary left-back spot after shifting to the right in Aina's absence. Elsewhere, Yates comes into midfield at the expense of Dominguez, who started the victory over Spurs last time out. Danilo also drops to the bench to accommodate Hudson-Odoi in attack.

SUBS: Hakon Rafn Valdimarsson, Ben Mee, Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer, Rico Henry, Edmond-Paris Maghoma, Mathias Jensen, Yunus Emre Konak, Gustavo Gomes.

SUBS: Carlos Miguel, Harry Toffolo, Morato, Zach Abbott, Ibrahim Sangare, Nicolas Dominguez, Jota Silva, Ramon Sosa, Taiwo Awoniyi.

Tonight’s visitors, Brentford, sit five places and 14 points behind their opponents, but with the outlandish potential permutations that could see as many as 11 Premier League clubs qualify for European football, the Bees still have everything to play for. Thomas Frank’s free-scoring forward line will look to test the miserly defence of Forest in the hope of securing an all-important away win.

Nottingham Forest have the opportunity to re-establish their claims for a Champions League spot as they host Brentford this evening at The City Ground. The Reds have relinquished what looked like a vice-like grip on the top five in recent weeks as defeats to Aston Villa and Everton threatened to derail their lofty European ambitions. But a win tonight would take them up to third place and ensure they remain in control of their own destiny.

Good evening and welcome to our live text commentary coverage of tonight's Premier League clash between Nottingham Forest and Brentford.