Nottingham Forest will look to end a run of five Premier League games without a win when they host Tottenham on Friday night.
Steve Cooper’s squad kept their manager in his job for another week at least with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Wolves last time out and they still hold a five-point lead over the bottom three despite their severe drop in form.
Spurs put a stop to a rut of their own as they thumped a leggy Newcastle side 4-1 in north London, though Ange Postecoglou’s outfit remain three points off the Champions League qualification pace.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Friday night’s encounter.
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Sky Sports Main Event |
|
United States |
nbcsports.com, SiriusXM FC, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
Forest manager Cooper switched to a three-player defence in the draw with Wolves. The change worked to good effect and the Reds may set up in the same formation with Spurs likely to enjoy plenty of possession.
Main striker Taiwo Awoniyi is not expected to return until late February 2024, with Forest now reliant on the output of attackers like Anthony Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood.
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup vs Tottenham (3-5-2): Turner; Boly, Murillo, Niakhate; Williams, Yates, Mangala, Danilo, Toffolo; Elanga, Gibbs-White.
Spurs have added midfielder Giovani Lo Celso to their injury list in the build-up to Friday’s game. He joins key first-teamers James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Rodrigo Bentancur on the sidelines, alongside Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon and Eric Dier.
Postecoglou is expected to name the same starting XI that dispatched Newcastle on Sunday, meaning Son Heung-min should play on the wing with Richarlison through the middle.
Brennan Johnson, a summer signing from Forest, should start at the City Ground against his old team.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Davies, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Johnson, Kulusevski, Son; Richarlison.
Forest managed to take a point at Molineux last time out after Harry Toffolo’s strike was cancelled out by Matheus Cunha’s effort but the home side have a tougher task on their hands when Gameweek 17 kicks off on Friday night.
Spurs showed their attacking quality with the thrashing of Newcastle but certain fragilities remain throughout their starting XI, such is the depth of their injury issues.
A busy and vocal City Ground could make things more than uncomfortable for the visitors but Tottenham should find enough in the final third for a healthy margin of victory.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-3 Tottenham
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