Nottingham Forest face Tottenham this evening in a very unusual 6pm kick-off in the Premier League – and here is our predicted team for the important away trip to the capital.
The Reds roared back to winning ways against Fulham on Tuesday night with a 3-1 win. Forest were three goals to the good at half-time, with goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi, Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White.
A win was just the tonic for Forest who had gone five games without victory in the Premier League. A draw with Crystal Palace now feels like a decent point following the three big ones on Tuesday night.
Ahead of this evening’s game against Tottenham – the club’s second-ever visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – we’ve had a look at a predicted team that Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo might call upon.
- READ MORE: Who is Nuno Espirito Santo?
Predicted Nottingham Forest team to play Tottenham
Between the posts, Forest have a new player to pin their hat on and Matz Sels was nominated for Save of the Month earlier this week. He will almost certainly start and Sels recently received praise from Espirito Santo.
Ahead of Sels, we think there is little reason to change anything and Espirito Santo would be wise to throw his weight behind Andrew Omobamidele and Murillo as a partnership going forward.
The Republic of Ireland defender feels like a decent foil for the Brazilian and he’s rarely put a foot out of place since he came to the City Ground.
Similarly at full-back, we think Neco Williams and Ola Aina are the first choice on the right and left respectively and both should get the nod to play.
In midfield, Espirito Santo has had a similar conundrum to the one at centre-back. However, against Fulham things clicked and the shirts now belong to Ryan Yates and Danilo.
It would appear that things have been narrowed down a little bit. It would seem as though it’s now one of Ibrahim Sangare or Yates and one of Danilo or Nicolas Dominguez going forward.
In the advanced positions, fitness will have to be checked. Callum Hudson-Odoi was class on Tuesday and enjoyed a warm embrace with Forest head coach Espirito Santo after the game.
Anthony Elanga was a menace on Tuesday even if things didn’t quite go his way in front of the goal. However, we expect him to start against Tottenham.
Elsewhere, Morgan Gibbs-White has to play. Danny Murphy raved about him and said he expected Gibbs-White to play for a Champions League team at some point.
In attack, there is only really one man for the job. Chris Wood impressed Steve Hodge on Tuesday night and with Taiwo Awoniyi injured, the 12-goal striker will get the opportunity again.
Predicted Forest team:
Who else is in contention for Forest vs Tottenham
Well, the squad finally looks like it’s managing to stay fit which bodes well at this time of the year. On Tuesday, the only absentees were Taiwo Awoniyi and Willy Boly.
Espirito Santo is unlikely to have those players back for the trip to London – so it’s as we were from Tuesday night.
Giovanni Reyna was pretty good from the bench on Tuesday, whilst Rodrigo Ribeiro is also chasing more minutes after signing in January from Sporting Lisbon.
Another player pushing hard for a start is Divock Origi. He came so close to scoring against Fulham and he will want to get that first Premier League goal ticked off at some point.
In defence, both Gonzalo Montiel and Harry Toffolo will provide cover for the full-back positions. Moussa Niakhate well provide the backup at the heart of the back four.
The bench will likely be completed withCheikhou Kouyate, alongside Dominguez and Sangare in midfield.
Nottingham Forest predicted team vs Tottenham: Sels; Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Aina; Yates, Danilo, Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
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