Follow live coverage as Nottingham Forest face Brentford today in the Premier League. Another top-flight season will be covered in full right here with The Independent, as reigning champions Manchester City look to make it an unprecedented five titles in a row come the end of 2024/25.
The likes of Arsenal and Liverpool will be chasing Pep Guardiola's side, but just as fascinating will be the race for Champions League places, with more teams than ever before having designs on top-four finishes. Chelsea remain big-spending, Manchester United's latest rebuild continues and both Tottenham and Newcastle will expect improvements this year - yet it was Aston Villa who snared fourth last term.
Meanwhile, it's Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town who made it back to the elite after promotion last year and each will have hope they can make it more than a one-year stay. Follow the latest live action from the Premier League below:
Nottingham Forest FC 0 - 2 Brentford FC
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:38Brentford 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:25FULL-TIME: FOREST 0-2 BRENTFORD
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:23The stadium begins to empty as Mbeumo catapults a corner in from the right.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:23Humerous 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:21We are into the first of four added minutes at the end here at The City Ground.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:21Cautious 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:20A 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:19Yellow Card Kristoffer Vassbakk Köpp Ajer
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:19Another wayward ball pronpts 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:15Substitution Ryan James Yates Ramón Sosa Acosta
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:14Kayode 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:13Substitution Michael Olabode Kayode Kristoffer Vassbakk Köpp Ajer
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:12Substitution Mikkel Krogh Damsgaard Yunus Emre Konak
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:12More changes are being made by Brentford here to slow the game down.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:12Can Brentford hold on? If they do, they will break the hoodoo endured that has seen them winless in their last ten PL midweek fixtures.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:08Elanga 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:04Substitution Temitayo Olufisayo Olaoluwa Aina Ibrahim Sangaré
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:04Substitution Morgan Anthony Gibbs-White João Pedro Ferreira Silva
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
21:00Goal Yoane Wissa Bileko
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:58MBEUEMO 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 Mbeuemo's shot with the left boot is blocked by Yates who flings himslef to ground.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:57Substitution Kevin Schade Mathias Jensen
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:56BIG 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:53Yellow Card Yehor Yarmoliuk
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:52Yellow Card Neco Shay Williams
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:51INCHES 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:50Substitution Elliot Junior Anderson Taiwo Micheal Awoniyi
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:49It looks like Awoniyi is being readied by Nuno Santo. Will he be brought on to play with Wood?
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:48It 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:47Milenkovic 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:45CLOSE 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:43A 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:41Wood 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:38The rain is absolutely lashing down now in Nottingham. That could make for some tricky decision making in defence.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:35Back under way at The City Ground.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:34Substitution Keane William Lewis-Potter Rico Antonio Henry
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:34Substitution Callum James Hudson-Odoi Nicolás Martín Domínguez
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:32It 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:25There will be three additional minutes at the end of the first period.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:24A 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 speight of early yellow cards seemed out of place with the general flow of the game, although there have been 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:19HALF-TIME: FOREST 0-1 BRENTFORD
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:15Assist Nathan Michael Collins
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:12Anderson is emplored 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:12Yellow Card Christian Thers Nørgaard
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:11Mbeuemo 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:10Four 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:07There is a definite ploy to isolate Lewis-Potter down Brentford's left. Aina and Elanga are doubling up wherever possible and attacking with dynamism.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:07Yellow Card Bryan Tetsadong Marceau Mbeumo
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:06A 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:03A corner fro 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 back stick. 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
20:01WOOD 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:58A 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:57Elanga 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:55LEWIS-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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:54Two 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:53Wissa is becoming increasingly involved in this encounter. The home side will not need reminding of his talent.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:50CLOSE FROM VAN DEN BERG!! SELS SAVES!! Damsgaard whipped 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:48Yellow Card Elliot Junior Anderson
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:48Wissa goes down under the challenge from Williams as he races down the Brentford right. Free-kick given.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:47Tentative penalty claims from the home team as Lewis-Potter fells Elanga. Nothing doing says the referee.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:46A 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:42That was better from Forest who snapped into life after winning the ball from Mbuemo 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:42Yellow Card Keane William Lewis-Potter
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:40Yellow Card Morgan Anthony Gibbs-White
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:39Forest’s style is so direct. In fact, they have the fewest amount of accurate passes per Premier League match with 259.7.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:38Brentford having lots of the ball, but that is to be expected given Forest's strategy this season.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:38OUCH!! 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:37An accomplisehed start from the visitors here. They have got in the faces of Forest and will look to attack often and at pace tonight.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:35ACROSS THE FACE FROM SCHADE!! That was a fabulous run from 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 trn it over the line and Murillo clears.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:34An early ball fizzed in from the right by Aina, but it is collected by Flekken. Oh how Forest have missed their right-back.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:32It is an extremely raucous atmsophere at The City Ground tonight. It will be fascinating to see who settles first.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:31Referee, Darren England sounds his whistle and gets the game started!
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:29The 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:00Brentford 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 Mbuemo 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:00Aina 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:00SUBS: Hakon Rafn Valdimarsson, Ben Mee, Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer, Rico Henry, Edmond-Paris Maghoma, Mathias Jensen, Yunus Emre Konak, Gustavo Gomes.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:00BRENTFORD (4-2-3-1): Mark Flekken; Michael Kayode, Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg, Keane Lewis-Potter; Christian Norgaard, Yehor Yarmoliuk; Bryan Mbuemo, Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade; Yoane Wissa.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:00SUBS: Carlos Miguel, Harry Toffolo, Morato, Zach Abbott, Ibrahim Sangare, Nicolas Dominguez, Jota Silva, Ramon Sosa, Taiwo Awoniyi.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:00NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-2-3-1): Matz Sels; Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, Neco Williams; Ryan Yates, Elliot Anderson; Anthony Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi; Chris Wood.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:00Tonight’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 vs Brentford
19:00Nottingham 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.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
19:00Good evening and welcome to our live text commentary coverage of tonight's Premier League clash between Nottingham Forest and Brentford.
Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
17:30Follow all the goals and latest action from the Premier League here with The Independent. Team news and line-ups coming up shortly…
