Igor Thiago faces performance challenges at Brentford

Brentford striker Igor Thiago is experiencing a period of fluctuating form following a quiet performance in the recent World Cup. After a historic 2025/26 season where he scored 22 Premier League goals, finishing as the league's second-highest scorer, the 24-year-old has struggled to replicate that output in the current campaign.

In his first 11 appearances across the Premier League and League Cup this season, Thiago has recorded three goals and two assists. This is a notable decline from the start of the previous season, where he had already scored seven goals in the same timeframe. His recent dip in performance led to him being omitted from the Brazilian national team's recent friendly matches against Australia and India.

Despite these challenges, Thiago is adapting to a new role as a pivot, contributing assists in his last two matches. He is set to face Nottingham Forest, the team against which he scored his first goal in English football following a lengthy injury layoff caused by a meniscus injury and joint infection.