Away days may continue to fill the Brentford faithful with a sense of dread heading into the New Year; after coming close but no cigar to taking a point off of West London rivals Chelsea, the Bees were comfortably swept aside by Newcastle in Wednesday’s EFL Cup bout.
A double from Sandro Tonali and tap-in from Fabian Schar meant that the result was a foregone conclusion before Yoane Wissa‘s stoppage-time consolation, as Frank was left to bemoan the “soft” goals his side gave up to Eddie Howe‘s team at St James’ Park.
Now only focusing on Premier League matters until their FA Cup campaign gets underway next month, the Bees’ 11th-placed ranking in the Premier League table embodies that of a side with the best home record in the entire division and the second-worst away record of the 2024-25 campaign.
Indeed, while Frank’s side cannot buy a win on the road, they have accrued a magnificent 22 points from 24 on offer at the Gtech Community Stadium this season and are one of only two teams still with their unbeaten home record intact, the other being London rivals Arsenal
Hoping to avoid becoming the next victims of a goal-laden Gtech thriller, Nottingham Forest’s non-participation in the EFL Cup quarter-finals gave Nuno Espirito Santo‘s men a full week to bask in the glory of a spectacular turnaround in Premier League gameweek 16.
Aston Villa duo Jhon Duran and Emiliano Martinez – who pulled off what may go down as one of the greatest saves the Premier League has ever seen – seemingly had the last laugh at the City Ground on December 14, only for Nikola Milenkovic‘s second goal in as many games and Anthony Elanga‘s last-gasp winner to complete an incredible Forest comeback.
Enhancing their Champions League credentials at the expense of Unai Emery‘s side, surprise package Forest have leapfrogged stuttering champions Manchester City into the top four of the Premier League table, and only two points are separating them from Arsenal and a place on the podium.
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An equal number of Forest’s 28 points have been amassed on the road and at the City Ground this season, but Santo’s men are without a clean sheet in six successive Premier League matches on the road, not a brilliant omen before a visit to the division’s home goalscoring specialists.
Furthermore, Brentford are yet to suffer defeat to Forest in the Premier League since the latter’s promotion in 2022 – winning both of their battles at the Gtech – and not since a 1-0 January 2020 triumph at Griffin Park have the Tricky Trees come up trumps in this head-to-head.
