Nottingham Forest get potential Champions League boost after FA announcement
Nottingham Forest get potential Champions League boost after FA announcement
Forest have been dealt another FA Cup dilemma with the latest fixture announcement for their fifth-round clash with Ipswich Town.
Forest beat Exeter City in the fourth round in what was an unexpectedly difficult tie for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, with a number of fringe members of the Forest squad having a mixed evening.
While Jota Silva was slammed by Forest fans for his display, Ibrahim Sangare starred against Exeter in what was his first game back from injury.
However, the game may be best remembered for its unusual scheduling. Chris Sutton was fuming with the date of Forest’s clash with Exeter as rather than the traditional weekend schedule, Forest were forced to travel down south on a Tuesday night which was far from ideal for fans.
The result was a positive one in the end but an even bigger boost would’ve been a more favourable fifth round date, something that doesn’t look to be the case on paper.
Nottingham Forest given another difficult FA Cup schedule
Forest drew fellow Premier League side Ipswich Town for the fifth round of the cup, which promises to be a greater challenge on paper than what League One Exeter provided.
If the challenge wasn’t big enough for the Forest manager to deal with, the tie will be played at the City Ground on a Monday evening rather than the weekend.
According to the Forest website: “Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will host Ipswich on Monday 3rd March with kick-off confirmed for 7:30 pm. The match will be broadcast live on ITV4.”
The home draw will have been a positive for the brave Forest fans who travelled down to Exeter, but the fact it will be played on a Monday evening will make going to the game more tricky than desired.
On the surface, Espirito Santo will be disappointed by this news but because of some crucial games coming up in the race for European football, the Monday fixture may work in Forest’s favour.
Nottingham Forest could benefit from the Monday FA Cup fixture
Whilst Forest may only need to finish fifth to qualify for the Champions League, Espirito Santo won’t want to take any chances so holding onto the current third-place position will be the target.
Two fixtures that look likely to go a long way to deciding that position in the Premier League table will be the back-to-back home clashes with Arsenal and Manchester City, which sandwich the FA Cup tie with Ipswich.
Given that the Arsenal game is on Wednesday the 26th of February, the FA Cup game being scheduled for Monday may actually benefit Espirito Santo in terms of resting his squad.
The Forest coaching staff will have four days to rest and prepare their defenders between the Arsenal and Ipswich games, then four more between the Ipswich and City clashes, an unorthodox schedule which may inadvertently help Espirito Santo as the crucial run-in picks up speed.
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