Nottingham Forest will hope to end their dismal run of form against Brentford at the City Ground tonight.

Not only are the Reds without a win in five games, they have failed to score in that time as well, suffering successive 2-0 defeats in their last two outings.

Worryingly, their goal scoring issues stretch back further, with Forest scoring in just three of their last 12 games.

Despite that, Karanka has turned his new team into a solid outfit defensively and they have a nine-point lead over the bottom three, with a game in hand on most their rivals, so relegation shouldn’t be a worry.

Yet, Karanka will be very concerned at their problems in the final third.

Here we look at two key decisions facing the Spaniard ahead of the Brentford game tonight…

Given their woes in front of goal, the former Boro boss decided to give Vellios a rare opportunity in the past two games and he didn’t really make the most of it.

However, it’s important to recognise they were away games against Millwall and Middlesbrough, two good sides who are chasing the play-offs – it’s a tough two games to get thrown in for.

Karanka will be tempted to bring back Ben Brereton or Daryl Murphy if fit, but has he really given Vellios long enough to make an impact?

As mentioned, Forest don’t really have to worry about staying up so they’ve got nothing to play for.

Therefore, Karanka should be considering changing the formation. Whether it’s a drastic change, such as opting for a 3-4-3, or a slight tweak such as playing just one defensive minded midfielder, it’s clear something needs to happen.

Failing to score in nine out of 12 games is disgraceful and whilst individuals deserve criticism, the tactics aren’t working either.

With nothing to lose, Karanka should consider experimenting tonight – it can’t be much worse!