Nottingham Forest will head to the Emirates this afternoon to take on Premier League high flyers Arsenal, and Steve Cooper will be hoping his team can deliver another giant killing.
The Tricky Trees took all three points from their meeting with Liverpool at The City Ground last weekend, so the manager will be hoping the confidence and fearlessness shown by his team against Jurgen Klopp’s side can translate into their performance against the Gunners today.
Forest are currently rock bottom in the Premier League table but after Leicester City lost and Wolverhampton Wanderers picked up a draw yesterday, taking all three points from their clash would see them climb into 18th, only in the relegation zone by goal difference.
In terms of injuries, Omar Richards, Jack Colback, Moussa Niakhate and Harry Toffolo remain unavailable for selection, however, Cooper did deliver a promising update on Lewis O’Brien who will undergo a late fitness test ahead of the game.
The Forest boss took to his pre-match press conference to give an update on the midfielder who has been absent through illness:
“Lewis and Renan are back training. Lewis has only come back in the past few days.”
With all considered, this is how Football FanCast expects Nottingham Forest to line up against Arsenal…
Dean Henderson (GK), Renan Lodi (LB), Scott McKenna (CB), Joe Worrall (CB), Serge Aurier (RB), Ryan Yates (CM), Remo Freuler (CM), Orel Mangala (CM), Morgan Gibbs-White (LW), Taiwo Awoniyi (CF), Brennan Johnson (RW).
We expect to see four changes to the team that beat Liverpool last weekend, with the manager sticking to a 4-3-3 formation.
The first change we predict is Renan Lodi reprising his role in the left-back position after returning from injury and making an appearance from the bench last Saturday, replacing Neco Williams who had been covering the role in his absence.
Lodi will be joined by club captain Joe Worrall who will return to the side to replace Steve Cook alongside Scott McKenna and Serge Aurier as both will keep their places in the starting line-up.
In midfield, the third fresh face in the team we predict will earn a start at the Emirates is Orel Mangala who could replace Cheikhou Kouyate in an otherwise unchanged midfield that includes Remo Freuler and Ryan Yates.
The fourth and final change we expect to see is the return of Brennan Johnson in the starting line-up, stealing the spot in the front three from Jesse Lingard, a player who has been one of the weakest contributors by attacking threat.
The 29-year-old dud – who was dubbed “anonymous” by journalist Will Unwin – is more likely to lose his place than Morgan Gibbs-White who has been much more influential with two assists so far this term.
The odds will not be in the favour of Forest when they head to north London this afternoon but the team have proved in their most recent clash that they have the ability and quality to put up a fight when they come together and work hard. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the team responds to the inevitable threat Arsenal will pose.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/CanDiE9
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