Nottingham Forest will look to snap a five-game losing streak in the Premier League when they host Tottenham on Friday night.
With a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Wolves last time out, Steve Cooper’s team kept their manager’s job for at least another week, and they still hold a five-point lead over the bottom three despite their recent slump in form.
Spurs ended their own rut by thrashing a sluggish Newcastle side 4-1 in north London, though Ange Postecoglou’s side remains three points off the Champions League qualification pace.\
In the 0-0 draw with Wolves, Forest manager Cooper went with a three-man defence. The switch worked well, and the Reds may stick to the same formation with Spurs likely to have plenty of possession.
Taiwo Awoniyi, the club’s main striker, is not expected to return until late February 2024, leaving Forest to rely on the output of attackers such as Anthony Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Chris Wood.
Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso has been added to the injury list ahead of Friday’s game. He joins James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, and Rodrigo Bentancur on the bench, as well as Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon, and Eric Dier.
Postecoglou is expected to name the same starting lineup that defeated Newcastle on Sunday, which means Son Heung-min will play on the wing and Richarlison will play in the middle.
Brennan Johnson, a summer signing from Nottingham Forest, should start against his former club at the City Ground
Forest earned a point at Molineux last time out after Harry Toffolo’s strike was cancelled out by Matheus Cunha’s effort, but the home side will face a more difficult task when Gameweek 17 begins on Friday night.
Spurs demonstrated their attacking quality in their thrashing of Newcastle, but certain vulnerabilities remain throughout their starting XI due to the severity of their injury problems.
A raucous City Ground could make things difficult for the visitors, but Tottenham should find enough in the final third to secure a comfortable victory.
