Brentford: Bees handed huge injury boost as Keith Andrews welcomes back key pair | OneFootball

West Londoners will see attacking depth bolstered

Fabio Carvalho is in contention for Brentford’s match against Manchester City, having returned from a minor knee injury.

Keith Andrews is also able to welcome back Reiss Nelson from illness, with the winger yet to appear for Brentford in the league following his Deadline Day loan move from Arsenal.

Brentford hold an option to make Nelson’s loan permanent at the end of the season.

However, they will not take a decision before then and will assess Nelson throughout the season, with the 25-year-old having struggled with injuries since making his Arsenal debut in 2017.

Gustavo Nunes is also closing in on a return to action, having been out since July with a hamstring injury suffered against Gil Vicente during Brentford’s pre-season tour of Portugal.

The Brazilian winger, who returned to first-team training this week, has struggled with injuries since arriving from Gremio last summer, and had to wait until April to make his debut last season.

Nunes, who has played just 11 minutes of senior football for Brentford, had hoped for a fresh start under Andrews.

However, the same injury issues have persisted, and with his return to action still unclear, it’s hard for Andrews to factor him into his plans.

Another player who had been hoping to make a strong early impression on Andrews was Paris Maghoma, who missed a large portion of pre-season with a hamstring injury.

The midfielder will begin training with the club’s B team before the end of this week.

Brentford are looking to maintain their unbeaten run at home under Andrews, having taken seven points from their opening three games at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Last weekend’s emphatic victory over Manchester United followed a dramatic 2-2 draw against Chelsea and a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, and Andrews says his side need to embrace the challenge posed by Man City.

"We should take a lot [of confidence]. I thought we played with real courage and conviction. They are key components of what we will need on Sunday against Man City. We need to embrace the challenge and enjoy it,” Andrews said in his pre-match press conference.

“They [City] are an outstanding team who will test us in different ways. We will have to be on it in every phase of the game. Ultimately, we need to cause them problems going the other way. We need to throw punches to make it uncomfortable for them.”