Is it too early in the season to call a game like this a ‘six-pointer’?
I don’t think it is. When you take a look at the Championship table, with both sides hanging onto their places in the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, where two bad results can put you out of them, it really does add a little extra spice to the game. Even if it is only January.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s game, Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi praised the West London side for their efforts so far this season and talked about the kind of test that they would give his side:
“Brentford have a good manager and they have been working well together for some time now. They have very good players and for me, along with West Brom, Leeds and Fulham, they can go up. Brentford are a good club and they are working really well together at the moment. I remember the game against them at The City Ground earlier in the season, it was a very tactical game and we had to produce a fantastic performance to beat them. Tomorrow will be a tough game on a difficult pitch but Brentford are a very good team to play against.”
This really is the kind of game that can go a long way to determining whether or not Forest will have the staying power to mount a challenge at the top of the table towards the end of the season.
If they can go to one of the division’s most in-form teams, as well as the one with the best defensive record in the division and get a result, then it should act as a huge morale boost for the team and really give them the confidence to go on and take on the rest of the teams in the Championship.
And with a game against Leeds United right around the corner, it could not come at a more perfect time.
Was that game a 'six-pointer'?
Yes
No
On the other hand though, a bad result at Griffin Park, and all of a sudden the club need to start looking over their shoulders at the teams below them rather than thinking about trying to catch the teams that are above.
