Defensive blows but an attacking boost? Predicted Brentford XI vs. Forest
Defensive blows but an attacking boost? Predicted Brentford XI vs. Forest
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank might be down to the bare bones in defence for Saturday's Premier League contest with Nottingham Forest at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The Bees were knocked out of the EFL Cup courtesy of a 3-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Wednesday evening, where Ethan Pinnock had to be withdrawn in the first half due to a hamstring problem.
In addition, Sepp van den Berg was absent entirely after hurting his groin, and with just three days to recuperate, it would be a shock to see either man involved in Saturday's top-flight contest.
The duo will join Gustavo Nunes (back), Rico Henry (knee), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Josh Dasilva (knee) and Mathias Jensen (thigh) in the medical bay, but there is hope that Igor Thiago will be involved following his return to training.
Thiago's re-introduction could see the summer signing work in tandem with home specialists Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa up front; the latter could become just the second African player to score in eight successive Premier League home games after Mohamed Salah.
Christian Norgaard was rested in midweek but should now form a familiar engine room with Mikkel Damsgaard and Vitaly Janelt, as Frank tweaks his system to account for the expected loss of Pinnock.
Mads Roerslev should be the man to benefit from Pinnock's problem as the Dane takes up the right-back position, thus forcing Kristoffer Ajer to shift over to the left as Ben Mee and Nathan Collins form the central pairing.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Roerslev, Collins, Mee, Ajer; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Thiago, Wissa
> Click here to see how Forest could line up for this match