Ryan Yates returned to the Nottingham Forest starting line-up, for the first of back-to-back home games.
The midfielder had missed Wednesday night’s defeat at Norwich City as he served a one-match suspension for his red card at Reading.
But he was back in the team to face Brentford as boss Chris Hughton made just one change to his XI, with Samba Sow dropping to the bench.
Looking to arrest a six-match winless run at the City Ground, Joe Worrall was once again handed the captain’s armband, partnering Tobias Figueiredo in the heart of the defence.
Yuri Ribeiro and Cyrus Christie completed the back four, at left and right-back respectively, ahead of goalkeeper Brice Samba.
It looked likely Hughton planned to stick with a 4-1-4-1 formation against the Bees, although he could also switch to a 4-3-3.
In the former, Harry Arter seemed most likely to take up the holding role, with Yates and Cafu ahead of him.
There was no place in the starting XI for Anthony Knockaert, despite his goal at Carrow Road, as Joe Lolley and Sammy Ameobi kept their places on the flanks, set to support lone striker Lyle Taylor.
Knockaert, instead, found himself on the bench, with Gaetan Bong also included, along with Jordan Smith, Loic Mbe Soh, Carl Jenkinson, Alex Mighten, Miguel Angel Guerrero and Will Swan.
Michael Dawson and Nicholas Ioannou were both left out of the squad.
Forest: Samba, Christie, Figueiredo, Worrall, Ribeiro, Arter, Lolley, Yates, Cafu, Ameobi, Taylor. Subs: Smith, Mbe Soh, Bong, Jenkinson, Mighten, Guerrero, Sow, Knockaert, Swan.
