Nottingham Forest currently sit 17th in the Premier League, one point above the relegation zone, with five games to play this season.

However, after a 3-1 win against Brighton on Wednesday night, things may be looking up for Steve Cooper's side.

We spoke with Nottinghamshire Live's Nottingham Forest correspondent Sarah Clapson to get their thoughts ahead of the clash at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Nottingham Forest are 17th in the Premier League with five games left to play this season. What have you made of the past five months since the last meeting?

Since then, a lot has changed. By the time of the Brentford game, Forest had made good strides, after struggling at the start of the season, and had started to build a bit of momentum, which continued after the World Cup break. They picked up some really good results and it looked as though Steve Cooper had found a team that worked.

But they have had a lot of injury problems recently, which has really restricted his options, and he has not been able to play his strongest team for a lot of that period. In January, new players came in and they have lost the momentum they had.

As everyone knows, when you are on a downward curve, it is difficult to turn it around, but that is what they have got to try to do in the remaining games this season. They still have a chance of staying up and they have to keep believing they can do it.

As you say, Forest are very much in the relegation picture going into the final weeks. Is there a feeling in the camp they will be able to get out of trouble?

Whenever you speak to the manager and the players, they definitely insist there is still the belief and confidence that they can. Among the supporters, there are many that feel as though Forest will be able to turn things around, but some others might look at the table, see it from a different perspective and maybe start to worry.

There are some really tough games in the run-in and they have really struggled on the road this season. But because it is still so close down there, I would say there is a general hope around the place that they will secure survival.

Cooper made a point in one of his press conferences last week that teams have gone on really bad runs before, turned it around and stayed up. It has just got to come down to what they do on the pitch now.

It feels as though Cooper has had several votes of confidence so far this season, but how much pressure do you think he is under at this point?

The statement the owner put out a few weeks ago, where he said results and performances have to improve immediately, showed backing to dismiss speculation about Cooper’s future – but it came with a warning that things have to be turned around quickly.

Obviously, that has not happened yet, so there is still pressure there.

The owner is a very ambitious man, Forest have been out of the Premier League for a very long time and everybody knows the situation and how desperately they want to stay up.

The majority of the teams around Forest have changed managers this season, so they are a bit of an outlier in that sense.

He still has the backing of the majority of the fans and still has a lot of credit because of what he did last season, and some fans think that, even if they do go down, he will be the right man to stick with to bring them back.

He gets a fantastic reception when he walks out at the City Ground and they sing his name at home and away games.

Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye on on Saturday?

Brennan Johnson is the key man. He is Forest’s leading goalscorer and the one that they are relying on to get them out of the position they are in. He has really taken to the Premier League and showed he can cause teams problems.

He and Morgan Gibbs-White have got a really good link-up going, though the latter has had a few quiet games recently and I think that has affected Johnson somewhat.

Cooper has openly said he looks at games and sees how he can get them on the ball more and try to fit a game plan around getting the best out of those two because they are the biggest threats.

How is Cooper likely to set up his side at the Gtech?

Recently they have gone into games with a low block and tried to hit teams on the counter, using the pace of Johnson and Gibbs-White.

At this stage of the season, the fans want to see them have a go and it gets to a point where you have to roll the dice and really go for it, but I think they are still quite wary of trying to be tough to beat, though it does not really show in the results.

They have tried a few different formations, so it is difficult to say exactly which one he will go with.

The last two meetings between Brentford and Forest have ended in a draw, but what’s your score prediction for this one?

I will go for another draw. As I said, Forest’s form on the road is really poor, but they do need to start picking up points as they will be desperate to turn their fortunes around. I will go for 1-1.