Brentford

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brentford and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Ethan: A hard-working performance by all the players, especially Igor Thiago, who is starting to find his form again. Great to see the subs also having an impact - the minute Jaidon Anthony came on he got an assist.

David: A challenging game after the past couple of matches but the resolve was there. Thiago was consistently fouled but got no favours from the officials, then got a deserved goal. Kevin Schade was also consistently hacked down. A gritty performance.

Tom: Really solid and professional performance by the Bees. Delighted with the result and the way we ensured Forest never looked like scoring. Delighted for Igor.

Rob: Thought it was a bit of a strange game really. Bees started well but Forest got into the game. Very surprised by Xaver Schlager going off a half-time because he had caused us problems. Once the Bees scored their second, Forest looked defeated. I was chuffed for Thiago. Hopefully he can go on a goalscoring run.

Forest fans

Peter: We were building something under Vitor Pereira, scoring goals and playing with freedom. We played with the same 4-2-3-1 since coming up to the Premier League. Now we're playing with Oliver Glasner's narrow, rigid system and it's costing us game after game. What's wrong with Ola Aina, Jair Cunha, Murillo and Neco Williams across the back? The performance xG might be good but data doesn't win games of football.

Nigel: Something is very wrong at Forest right now and there are ominous signs of deja vu. Glasner is clearly a very good manager but, as in any job, it's not always just about your qualifications but also about cultural fit. I hope I'm wrong - as we can't keep on doing this - but he simply might be the right guy at the wrong club.

David: Thomas Frank please - ASAP! We have so much class sitting on the bench but continue playing League One players. Come on, Marinakis, sort this out now.

John: I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that Mr Marinakis does not get yet another itchy trigger finger, otherwise we really will be back to square one - again!

Jonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Only Manchester City's Erling Haaland (27) netted more Premier League goals than Igor Thiago's 22 last season. But this season, it has been a different story.

Until four days ago, Thiago had netted just twice in 10 matches in all competitions. One of which was against Championship side Birmingham City in EFL Cup second-round drubbing.

But after scoring on Wednesday at Sunderland, again in the EFL Cup, the Brazil forward now has four goals in all competitions from 12 outings and with two in three days, showed a huge sigh of relief after sealing victory for the Bees.

"It means a lot to me. I was waiting for this goal for so long this season," Thiago, whose only other league goal came at home to Chelsea, told Premier League Productions.

"Thank you Lord, to score one more goal at home. I am really happy."

In the summer, Thiago went to the World Cup with Brazil. But after starting in their opening match against Morocco, the Bees striker was an unused substitute for the remainder of the campaign.

With back-to-back goals, his form will only compliment a Brentford side who despite missing Thiago's goals from last season, are showing early season signs of being in the European mix.

Brentford boss Keith Andrews speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We have had some good wins this season and that is right up there. The way the opposition set up, they were difficult to break down, we had to stay patient, not get frustrated and we had to nullify their key players.

"Off the back of a very busy week, another one for us with the scheduling, it was a really nice win."

On playing with intelligence: "You have to be smart against this team, it's not a one-dimensional game. You have to press with your head and your heart. They overload certain areas of the pitch so you have to be smart with how you deal with that. Then what you do with the ball, you have to have a level of patience, a level of control."

On the substitutes making an impact: "We speak about impact from the bench a lot and we have really good op from there. I just thought it was right for Aaron Hickey to come on in the midfield, technically as good a player as you are going to get. The second goal was really nice.

"We are growing. There's always going to be ups and downs. You analyse every single minute of every single game and if you step away and look what we have achieved so far this season I think on that side we are growing and showing a level of maturity, level of streetwise."

Did you know?

• Brentford have scored the opening goal in eight of their last nine Premier League games, while only Manchester City (37) and Arsenal (32) have done so more often in the competition since the start of last season than the Bees (27).

• Today's was their 100th home game in the Premier League (won 42, drawn 30 losy 28), with the Bees losing just one of their last 10 on home soil (won four, drawn five).

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Nottingham Forest's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are eight games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Chelsea v Manchester United (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Leeds United

• Brentford v Nottingham Forest

• Coventry City v Sunderland - first half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, second half on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Hull City v Ipswich Town

• Manchester City v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Crystal Palace (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Aston Villa v Fulham (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

How to follow the Premier League weekend across the BBC

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Man City v Brighton" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Coventry match", for example.

New this season: Live match updates

Fans of Premier League clubs can now get real-time scores live on their phone lock screen for every game.

Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

Find out more here

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New this season: Match of the Day Predictor

Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

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Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or on this link

Brentford will attempt to earn their third win of the season, against a Nottingham Forest side who go into the weekend in the bottom three in the table.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes ahead of Saturday's meeting at Gtech Community Stadium (15:00 GMT).

In last weekend's draw against Hull City, Brentford conceded first for the first time in all competitions this season. It happened again against Sunderland in the EFL Cup in midweek, where they let in three goals in a 13-minute first-half spell.

Although ultimately fruitless, the Bees did at least fight back with two goals, one of which came in injury time from Igor Thiago, who will be hoping that can spark some league form.

The Brazil international scored 22 league goals in 2025-26, but he's managed just one in eight games so far this season despite an expected goals total of 3.79.

Luckily for him, his team-mates have been finding the net, with Brentford the only side other than leaders Manchester City to have scored in all eight of their Premier League games so far this season.

Jaidon Anthony has only contributed one but does have a good record against Nottingham Forest, scoring three goals in four Premier League appearances against them for Bournemouth and Burnley.

Two of those games ended in draws, which is something Brentford are making a habit of, having drawn five of their eight league matches this season.

At first glance, Nottingham Forest are in a similar position to last season. After eight games they have one more point (six to five in 2025-26) in 18th.

It was at this stage last season that Forest sacked their manager for the second time in the campaign, so current boss Oliver Glasner must be feeling a bit nervous.

But Glasner also had a slow start at former club Crystal Palace. He didn't win any of his opening six games in charge and the Eagles also didn't win any of their first eight in his first full season.

And while the results are similar to last season, the performances are more encouraging. As the Austrian has pointed out, Forest are creating opportunities. They are third in the Premier League for shots taken (137) and fifth for big chances created (19).

His side are sixth in the expected goals table (13.49) but joint-bottom when it comes to real goals (6). That xG underperformance comes out at -7.49, the biggest shortfall in the Premier League by some margin – a gap that was increased in the 1-1 draw against Ipswich last time out, when Forest had 17 shots and an xG of 2.29.

Glasner believes it's only a matter of time before the chances turn into goals, but Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is notoriously impatient where results are concerned, as four managers last season can confirm.

Nottingham Forest should have beaten Ipswich last time out but that draw was another example of a game where they haven't taken their chances.

I do think things will turn for Oliver Glasner's side eventually but they are in the bottom three and he is desperate for a win.

I thought Brentford would beat Hull last week but they ended up sharing the points. The Bees do draw a lot of games and that is probably the most sensible prediction here.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest at Gtech Community Stadium (15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Andrews provided an update on winger Fabio Carvalho's fitness: "Fabio picked up a knock about 10 days to two weeks ago, so he's going to be out up until after the international break."

• Antoni Milambo and Josh Dasilva have trained with the group and both players are "in and around" the squad, while Kaye Furo has been out of his protective boot for "almost two weeks" and is "making good progress".

• Mikkel Damsgaard is in a "better place" as continues to recover from the injury he suffered while on international duty.

• Earlier in the week, it was also confirmed that Rico Henry will be out until after the international break with a hip and quad injury picked up in training.

• On the rest of his squad's fitness: "Everybody came through it [the defeat by Sunderland in the Carabao Cup] absolutely fine. A couple of them were playing for the first time in a while."

• Andrews is keen for his side to react well to Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Black Cats: "It's a good game for us. I couldn't wait for the Sunderland game to come around after the Hull game and, similarly with the disappointment of going out of the cup, I was very much on to this one from the bus journey back from the Stadium of Light."

• On the form of summer signing Malick Diouf: "He's 21 years old. He's got a very high ceiling. We knew that Malick had a very open mind towards developing his game and improving his individual way of playing. He will only get better for us and he will prove to be a brilliant signing."

• On Saturday's opponents Forest, who start the weekend in the relegation zone: "I'm expecting the toughest game we've had in the last seven to eight days. They've played very well in games and have some magnificent players who can hurt you if given the opportunity. If you look at the table, you would get a false sense of where they're at with their performances. If they continue performing the way they are, they will be in a very different position."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, Getty Images

Following Brentford's defeat against Sunderland, Bees fan Mike Johnson was critical of summer signing El Hadji Malick Diouf's performance as they exited the EFL Cup.

He described the full-back as a "£40m defender who can't defend," - but insisted that the blame cannot be entirely put on the 21-year-old.

"Yes he was at fault for a couple of goals, but the defending for about 15 minutes when Sunderland scored their goals is utterly embarrassing," Johnson told BBC Sport. "You cannot defend like that against Premier League opposition.

"It is such an opportunity missed with Fleetwood and Bradford progressing. Every season, I look at this competition and think 'I would love to go to Wembley'. I would love to have the chance to get a memory for a life time.

"Do not experiment in these games. I am going to care a lot more if we go out of the Carabao cup than if we finish 10th or 11th in the Premier League."

Following Brentford's draw against Hull in their last league game, Mike was similarly concerned about Diouf and said that performance was reflective of the club's business in the summer transfer window.

"Before this season, I don't think I was alone in thinking we lacked a bit of star quality either side of Igor Thiago," he said.

"We were heavily linked with Said El Mala, one of the Bundesliga's standout players last season, but it fell through. Instead, we ended up with Jaidon Anthony. We also acquired El Hadji Malick Diouf for around £40m and at the time I didn't really see the point of that signing - and I still don't now.

"Defensively we have looked very strong this season and in midfield I don't think there's too many concerns. It was our attacking options that were the biggest concern and it feels like those concerns were valid [against Hull].

"The Diouf signing seems a bit unnecessary. We have Keane Lewis-Potter - who Keith Andrews rates above Diouf - and we have [Aaron] Hickey who can play at left and right-back, and Rico Henry. We probably have enough cover.

"To go out and spend £40m on a left-back who West Ham fans were pretty happy to receive an inflated fee for seems a little bit questionable."

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie between Sunderland and Brentford.

Here are some of your comments:

Sunderland fans

Ian: 11 changes proves how far this team have come in the past two seasons. I liked the look of the team before kick-off and boy did those young guys run for the club. Ta Bi and Talbi gave the team an out when under pressure and must be in serious contention for the rest of the season. Well done.

Tony: With 11 changes from Sunday and against another Premier League side, we did extremely well, especially in the first half. Not surprisingly a bit weary as the game went on, but a result the players can be proud of.

David: Lots of positives for the club on the night. Most of the stand-ins did themselves no harm at all, but Ahoka and Ta Bi caught the eye. It was good to see some pace and trickery going forward and Regis le Bris will have learned a lot and been given a lot of food for thought. Great to see the ownership on the pitch at the end.

Harry: Where have you been Mr Ta Bi? What a performance. Should be starting playing like that. All-round decent performance from the team and nice to see Fofana get his first goal. Brentford had a lot of quality on show so I'm very happy.

Brentford fans

Nicholas: A long way to travel for a very poor performance. Problem is most people look at the league table and think everything is OK. Massive game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. This was a massive missed opportunity.

Stephen: Yet another poor performance in the cup. We never seem to be able to play as a team on these occasions - too many poor individual performances. Sad to say but we did not deserve to win. I hope we can learn from this performance and push on.

Paul: Another very poor display and beaten by a Sunderland reserve side. Please don't tell me we were up for that game because it was embarrassing and something doesn't seem quite right with Bees at the moment - their attitude stinks.

Rob: I've said it once and I'll say it again, we play our best football in a 4-3-3. When is Keith Andrews going to realise this? It's clear that the double pivot in midfield does not work as the full-backs push forward too much and the wide players do not tuck in and run back to support. Get a grip, man, or get a new job before we end up in the bottom three.

Brentford boss Keith Andrews, who made eight changes from the weekend draw with Hull as his side exited the Carabao Cup at Sunderland: "We were very ambitious in this competition to go as far as we could.

"We approached it in a very diligent way, playing Sunderland recently we know what they are about. We can't concede goals like that in a short space of time, defend like that and expect a good outcome.

"The game is about both boxes. Granted there were some players who haven't played for a while, but we pride ourselves in how we defend as a team.

"It was a crazy game but we have to look at ourselves, how we conceded those goals. You can't describe those 12 minutes of madness. I had full faith in the team, we see them every day in training and unfortunately those minutes have cost us."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Sunderland's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Thursday for a selection of your replies.

There are five Carabao Cup fourth round games on Wednesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Brighton (19:30)

• Bournemouth v Aston Villa

• Fulham v Crystal Palace

• Sunderland v Brentford

• Liverpool v Chelsea (20:00)

Kick-off times 19:45 GMT unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Chelsea v Hull City" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Everton match", for example.

New this season: Live match updates

Fans of Premier League clubs can now get real-time scores live on their phone lock screen for every game.

Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

Find out more here

Image source, BBC Sport

New this season: Match of the Day Predictor

Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

Players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or on this link

Huzaifah Khan
BBC Sport journalist

Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup game against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light (kick-off 19:45 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On team news, Andrews confirmed there were no new issues to report.

• However, he did clarify why Rico Henry has been out of action lately. He explained: "He picked up an injury a few weeks ago, a hip quad injury in training" and added the full-back will be "probably out until after the international break".

• On rotating his team from the weekend draw against Hull, Andrews said: "It's as important a game for us as Hull is, and as Nottingham Forest is on Saturday. We got to the quarter-finals last year. If we come through this game, we get to that same point and we want to go as far as we can go in this competition."

• On his side drawing 12 of their last 18 league games: "I think there's an element of if you go back to analysing every game it'll be different. I think previously we maybe wouldn't have come back to draw that game [against Hull]."

• He added: "The players are not robots. They're human beings with emotions, with feelings, confidence levels. I'm just looking forward to the game tomorrow. How we turn the draws into wins is the challenge."

• On Igor Thiago's form after scoring once in the league so far: "I think with Thiago it's very simple, as long as he's working as hard as he is in training and in games, the fruits of his labour will come."

• On Sunderland's slow start to the season, Andrews said: "I don't think they should be bottom and I don't think they will be for very long. I think they're a well-drilled team. We've only seen that a few weeks ago when they came to the Gtech. We've had some really good games against them over the last year and a bit. Sunderland is going to prove to be a very difficult game for us tomorrow, no doubt."

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford fan Michael Johnston says he is concerned about the form of striker Igor Thiago, which he feels has "fallen off a cliff in recent weeks".

In Saturday's 1-1 draw with Hull City, the Brazil international failed to net again, with his record this season sitting at one goal from eight Premier League appearances.

This is a far cry from his outstanding record last term, where he pushed Manchester City striker Erling Haaland for the golden boot with his 22 goals in 38 games.

The Bees have been solid in the opening months of the campaign but they are regularly failing to turn draws into wins and with Thiago floundering in front of goal, Johnston believes boss Keith Andrews might need to look at other options.

On the draw with Hull, Johnston said: "Far too many of our regulars were far too casual, none more so than Igor Thiago, who I think we need to start having some serious conversations about.

"Still just the one goal this season, and it's not had the desired effect since Chelsea. But it's his overall play which has got me a bit more concerned because it's fallen off a cliff in recent weeks.

"Callum Wilson is given just 12 minutes off the bench to impact it and he must be questioning why, because everyone can tell it wasn't Igor Thiago's day and it wasn't against Liverpool either."

Listen to the full clip from Michael here

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Hull and Brentford

Here are some of your comments:

Hull fans

Dave: I thought it was a fair result, Brentford certainly deserved a point, but so did Hull City overall. City were never going to get that many chances, so the one for Joe Gelhardt near the end was massive. It would have taken them past the 11-point mark a lot of people said they wouldn't get.

Rich: Decent performance for the Tigers, but need to start converting these draws into wins otherwise they'll get dragged into a relegation battle.

David: So much better than last week.

Justin: Great to see the team have restored their spirit after Fulham. Clearly international duty had a big impact on those players energy reserves who were on duty. A win against Brentford would have been great, but careful team development, confidence building and strengthening, hopefully will pay dividends later in the year. You can see the beginnings of real depth in the squad, but now we need crucial wins to start coming. Well done! UTT

Brentford fans

David: Unfortunate penalty to concede. However, with our squad and ambitions to be in Europe we should have still gone on to win. Thiago played OK. Just doesn't looked like he is going to score goals anytime soon. Both sides probably thought they should have come away with three points. End to end stuff in the last 20 minutes. Very entertaining.

Alan: Everyone seems downbeat, but it's still a point away. With players to come back, they will make things better. Win next game and maybe a point away is not so bad.

Paul: Pretty poor display by the Bees, too many players lacking confidence. Think Keith Andrews has got to be strong and give the big names that aren't performing a rest and try something different...

Sampson: Solid performance from the Bees. Dango Outtara back to his best is nice to see. The penalty was a bit soft but overall, I think a draw was a fair result. Bring on Nottingham Forest!

Keith Andrews reacts to Brentford's 1-1 draw at Hull: "It was a tough game and it was always going to be a tough game. I've got a lot of respect for Sergej and the journey he's taken this team on – I think it's been remarkable.

"We reacted well at half-time, the impact from the bench was pretty good but it was a tough game.

"We prepared for this game as diligently as we did for Liverpool or Aston Villa, we knew it was coming but I don't think we dealt with it as well as we could have at times.

"With how we defended, we were tentative at times and not as aggressive on occasions as we usually are but the opposition play a part in that and they were pretty good on that front.

"We lacked a bit of cohesion at times in how we played, we've got very good players and good players on the bench and I think it's important that when they come on they realise that they have to impact the game.

"It's nice today that they had that impact."

Did you know?

For the first time this season Brentford conceded first in a Premier League game, becoming the 20th and final team to suffer that fate this season.

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It is often said that if you win your home games and draw the away ones then you will likely have a decent season, and Brentford are pretty much doing just that at the moment.

The Bees have claimed impressive home wins against Tottenham and Chelsea and are unbeaten on the road in a strong start to the season, sitting just four points off the top four.

The only concern is that they have drawn all four of their fixtures on the road and this was the first time this season they had failed to take the lead in a match.

With 14 attempts on goal in this match Brentford fans will likely feel this was a missed opportunity to get that first away win, but ultimately their side rarely truly worried Konstantinos Tzolakis in the Hull goal.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Hull City's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.