Thursday evening saw Brentford run out of the City Ground with a deserved three points as three other Premier League sides took big first steps towards European cup finals.
In this latest Scout Notes, we check out Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brentford, as well as rounding up the midweek European action.
BRENTFORD DENT FOREST’S UCL DREAMS
Yoane Wissa (£6.6m) scored for the third match in a row as Brentford kept a fourth clean sheet in 10 to deal a heavy blow to Forest’s dreams of Champions League football on Thursday.
The Bees, having enjoyed a 12-day break since their last match compared to Forest’s four-day rest since losing their FA Cup semi-final, were quickest out of the gates. After testing their hosts repeatedly, they took the lead just before half-time as Kevin Schade (£5.1m) prodded home a close-range finish from an excellent ball into the box – from his own half – courtesy of Nathan Collins (£4.5m).
Notably, that was centre-back Collins’ seventh assist of the season, taking him to nine direct goal involvements in the 2024/25 league campaign (see below). That’s a tally equal to Daniel Muñoz (£5.3m), and bettered only by Antonee Robinson (£4.8m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) and Rayan Aït-Nouri (£5.0m) among all FPL defenders.
Forest grew into the game in the second period, but all it took was another long ball, this time from Mark Flekken (£4.4m) – Brentford’s goalkeeper registering his second assist of the season, making five saves and picking up all three bonus points – to find Wissa, who outpaced the defence and dinked the ball home.
That effort took the DR Congo international to six goals and two assists from his last nine league matches – an impressive run which will attract plenty of attention ahead of Brentford’s appealing end-of-season stretch.
Elsewhere, left-back Rico Henry (£4.3m) continued his return from a long-term injury lay-off with a 45-minute run-out in Nottingham, replacing Keane Lewis-Potter (£5.0m) – who had been skating on thin ice after an 11th minute caution – at the interval for just his fourth appearance of the campaign in all competitions.
Three points here still leaves Brentford 11th in the table, but the Bees are now just two points adrift of eighth-placed Fulham, who they play in Gameweek 37. Brentford’s highest-ever Premier League finish to date is ninth (in 2022/23), which – along with an outside chance at European football – will surely now be the minimum target.
TABLE BONUS FRANK
The 2-0 victory also saw Bees boss Thomas Frank (£0.8m) pick up a huge 20-point Assistant Manager haul, with the Dane having scored table bonus points for the third time in four Gameweeks.
Frank has now accrued 49 points from those last four matches, and – with Brentford enjoying their longest unbeaten run of the season – will be viewed by many as a reliable choice again this week as he hosts Europe-focused United.
MBEUMO BLANK
Not everyone got in on the action in Nottingham, though.
A first-half yellow card ended up being Bryan Mbeumo’s (£8.1m) only return in this match, a far cry from an 18-point performance in his previous outing against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Mbeumo did have three attempts, all of them from inside the box, but none were on target or well-positioned enough to be deemed ‘big chances’. That included one promising, curling effort late on that had a little too much power on it, sailing wide and high of the goal.
Still, Brentford’s penalty taker and leading scorer – who has been directly involved in 25 league goals this season – will be a hugely popular selection for these next four Gameweeks:
“BAD NIGHT” FOR FOREST
A “bad” and “disappointing” night was the general assessment by Nuno Espírito Santo, whose fatigued-looking Forest team have now lost three of their last four league matches to slip into sixth place.
The hosts had 14 total attempts but all three Opta-defined big chances in this encounter were the visitors’, courtesy of Schade, Wissa and budget-friendly defender Sepp van den Berg (£4.1m), who forced Matz Sels (£5.1m) into an early save.
Anthony Elanga (£5.4m) came closest to breaching Brentford’s backline, hitting the target three times (the most of any player), but this was ultimately another blank for Forest, their second 0-2 defeat in a week and a fifth match without scoring from their last seven in all competitions.
That record will have to change if they are to climb back into the top five and secure a place in next season’s Champions League. Third-placed Newcastle are only two points ahead but Forest are now very much on the outside looking in, their fate no longer fully in their own hands, and will surely need to win all four of their remaining matches while hoping a few clubs above and around them drop points.
Thankfully for the Tricky Trees, their upcoming schedule is a relatively kind-looking one against four sides they have yet to lose against this season:
One positive for Forest on Thursday was the return of Ola Aina (£5.2m) to the starting line-up for the first time since Gameweek 30.
The Nigerian right-back is consistently a stand-out performer in a backline that has been excellent for so much of the season, and nearly registered an assist from a teasing cross that Chris Wood (£7.0m) – whose form has dipped considerably, with just one goal from his last seven matches – headed wide.
That was one of two chances Aina created on the night, and one of four crosses – albeit his only successful one.
EUROPEAN ROUND-UP
ARSENAL A GOAL DOWN IN PSG TIE
We’ll kick off our European round-up with the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
On a much-anticipated night at the Emirates, a fourth-minute strike from the impressive Ousmane Dembélé proved the difference maker to which the Gunners failed to find an answer.
PSG dominated the early proceedings but Arsenal asked plenty of questions of Gianluigi Donnarumma, too, with Gabriel Martinelli (£6.5m) and Leandro Trossard (£6.7m) both forcing the big Italian goalie into strong saves. Donnarumma was beaten by a Mikel Merino (£6.1m) header from a Declan Rice (£6.2m) free-kick early in the second half, but that effort was rightly ruled offside.
Fresh from his Double Gameweek 33 heroics, Trossard led the line against the Parisians as the central figure of Arsenal’s front three in between Martinelli and Bukayo Saka (£10.4m), who was kept relatively quiet while lasting the full 90 minutes on Tuesday – perhaps placing his involvement against Bournemouth on Saturday evening in doubt, if recent rotation patterns are anything to go by.
Trossard up top meant Merino dropped back into midfield alongside Rice and Martin Ødegaard (£8.2m). Arsenal’s captain has registered three assists across his last four league starts but was relatively poor in this big cup clash, with plenty of dissatisfied Gunners fans calling out for more of Ethan Nwaneri (£4.4m) – Ødegaard’s eventual stoppage-time replacement on Tuesday – in that central attacking role.
Could that be something we see Mikel Arteta experiment with at the weekend, to give Ødegaard’s legs a rest? We’ve more often seen Nwaneri deputise Saka on the right wing, but Raheem Sterling (£6.7m) presents another option there if need be, while Thomas Partey (£4.9m) could also come into the midfield and allow Merino to shift back into the frontline.
In defence, Arteta’s relatively settled current backline of Jurriën Timber (£5.7m), William Saliba (£6.6m), Jakub Kiwior (£4.8m) and Miles Lewis-Skelly (£4.5m) started again here, with the only change made in regulation time being the 83rd-minute swapping of Timber for Ben White (£6.1m).
The Englishman could be in line for a start in Gameweek 35 to keep Timber fresh for the second leg, with Kieran Tierney (£4.3m) or Oleksandr Zinchenko (£4.8m) the available options on the left, but we’d expect Saliba and Kiwior to continue as the centre-back pairing of choice as they have in all competitions since Gabriel Magalhães (£6.2m) went down back in Gameweek 30.
BRUNO BRACE, CASEMIRO IMPRESSES
The Red Devils stunned their Spanish hosts with three goals in 15 first-half minutes, recovering from a threatening period of Bilbao attacks to take the lead on the half hour mark. A lovely bit of skill from Harry Maguire (£4.9m) culminated in the English centre-back’s ball into the box being flicked on by Manuel Ugarte (£4.9m) for Casemiro (£4.6m) to head home the opener.
Seven minutes later, Rasmus Højlund (£6.9m) was brought down in the area, Bilbao were reduced to 10 men and Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) stepped up to double United’s lead from the penalty spot.
Ugarte was then the provider once again at the end of the first half, playing Fernandes through for a decisive third.
No more goals arrived in the second half, though the impressive Casemiro nearly doubled his personal tally only for his headed attempt – this one from a corner – to careen off the outside of the post.
Amorim’s chosen back three in the Basque Country was Leny Yoro (£4.3m), Victor Lindelöf (£4.3m) and Maguire, with the latter making way for Matthijs de Ligt (£4.8m) just after the hour mark when Ugarte was also replaced, by Mason Mount (£6.3m). The Uruguayan midfielder held down the middle of the park alongside Casemiro, with Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m) the left-wing back and Noussair Mazraoui (£4.2m) on the right in Diogo Dalot’s (£5.0m) calf injury-enforced absence.
Both wing-backs were replaced towards the end of the second half, first Mazraoui for Luke Shaw (£4.9m) after 74 minutes before Amad Diallo (£5.3m) came on for Dorgu in the 84th minute.
While his gametime will surely be managed after a months-long spell on the sidelines, Diallo’s return is a big boost for United, who initially expected their young star to be out for the season after damaging ankle ligaments in February.
Amorim’s other substitution was the 84th-minute introduction of Kobbie Mainoo (£5.2m) for Alejandro Garnacho (£5.9m).
With United’s focus undoubtedly on seeing out the return leg in Manchester next Thursday, we can probably expect Amorim to either bench several of his key players for Sunday’s relatively meaningless trip to Brentford or rest them at the earliest opportunity.
SOLANKE AND MADDISON FLAGGED/STILL NO SON
Spurs also hit three past their opponents, opening the scoring after just 38 seconds when Richarlison (£6.8m) – starting on the left of a front three – nodded the ball down for a Brennan Johnson (£6.2m) header.
James Maddison (£7.4m) then doubled the lead half an hour later from a Pedro Porro (£5.3m) long-ball assist, and Dominic Solanke (£7.3m) made it 3-0 from the penalty spot after Cristian Romero (£4.9m) was fouled in the box.
Spurs couldn’t keep the clean sheet, though, conceding a late goal to Bodø/Glimt’s only shot on target (via a deflection). That’s a possible cause for concern, given the Norwegian side now return home to the Arctic Circle – where they have beaten Porto, Lazio, Besiktas and Olympiakos this season – for next Thursday’s second leg with only a two-goal deficit, rather than three.
Another cause for worry from Spurs’ perspective was the loss of Solanke and Maddison to injury in the second half. The pair have since been flagged as having thigh and knee injuries, respectively.
They – along with several other key men – may have been likely to be rested against West Ham on Sunday anyway, but that Gameweek 35 outing should at the very least give us a chance to hear fitness updates from Postecoglou regardless of whether either player features.
One man who was still missing on Thursday was Son Heung-min (£9.7m), who hasn’t played since his early withdrawal against Southampton in Gameweek 31.
Spurs’ captain has been struggling with a foot injury and, like Solanke and Maddison, will face a race against time to be fit for the second leg against Bodø/Glimt, who should be boosted by the return of a few important players including their own skipper.
Should he miss out on that as well but Spurs manage to progress to the Europa League final, he’ll have until May 21st to be ready.
CHELSEA CRUISE THROUGH CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Elsewhere in Europa, there was a comfortable 4-1 victory for Chelsea in the first leg of their Conference League semi-final away to Swedish side Djurgården.
Jadon Sancho (£6.2m) and Noni Madueke (£6.0m) gave the Blues a two-goal lead at half-time, with each winger assisted by Enzo Fernández (£4.7m).
The Argentine midfielder was withdrawn at the break alongside Marc Cucurella (£5.4m), Reece James (£4.8m) – who lined up in the middle of the park beside Fernández – and Madueke, with those changes offering a hint of which players Enzo Maresca is keen to keep fresh for this weekend’s visit of Liverpool as his side bid to hold onto a top-five spot in the league.
Trevoh Chalobah (£4.4m) replaced Cucurella to slot into defence alongside Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.2m), Benoît Badiashile (£4.2m) and Josh Acheampong (£4.0m), who each lasted the full 90 minutes in Stockholm, and in front of Filip Jørgensen (£4.2m), who stepped up in the absence of Robert Sánchez (£4.5m). Chelsea’s back-up goalkeeper could well be between the sticks again on Sunday afternoon, given Sánchez is flagged with a knock.
James was replaced by Moisés Caicedo (£4.9m) and Fernández by Cole Palmer (£10.5m).
Madueke, meanwhile, made way for Nicolas Jackson (£7.7m) – who continued his return to goal-scoring form with a brace in the space of six minutes, the first of which was assisted by Palmer.
Djurgården pulled one back soon after, but Maresca and co will be confident that a three-goal cushion is sufficient for next week’s return leg at Stamford Bridge.
Elsewhere, Gameweek 33 goal-scorer Tyrique George (£4.5m) started up top and lasted 88 minutes on Thursday before 16-year-old Reggie Walsh was handed his debut – and nearly scored with his first touch – while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.5m) joined loanee Sancho in completing the full 90.
Jackson, Palmer, Fernández and Cucurella, Chelsea’s main FPL assets of note aside from Sánchez, should all be in line to start on Sunday.
