Nuno Espirito Santo risks matching unwanted Nottingham Forest record in Monday’s Tottenham clash
Nottingham Forest need a victory against Tottenham to get back in control of their Champions League fate, and to avoid a damning Nuno Espirito Santo record.
Peter Bankes will referee the Tottenham game, which will have sent some alarm bells given his recent history with the club, but distractions cannot be focused on too much with Champions League football at stake.
To help matters, Espirito Santo expects Chris Wood to be better against Spurs after an underwhelming display against Everton on his return to injury, where a Murillo defensive error cost Forest in the 1-0 defeat.
There’s no hiding the importance of Monday’s clash as Forest look to get back on track but to add extra pressure to proceedings, Espirito Santo will be looking to avoid matching a embarassing personal record.
Nuno Espirito Santo on verge of matching defeat record
The Portuguese boss has been excellent as Forest manager since taking over from Steve Cooper, with barely a blemish to his record as he guides the Reds into hopeful Continental qualification.
However, with consecutive defeats, Espirito Santo is on the verge of matching his worst run of results as Forest boss, dating back over a year ago when he was fighting to keep the club in the Premier League.
The three defeats were:
Aston Villa 4-2 Nottingham Forest – 24/02/24
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Liverpool – 02/03/24
Brighton 1-0 Nottingham Forest – 10/02/24
With Heung-min Son out injured for Spurs and this season’s earlier win against the North London club, there should be hope that Espirito Santo can avoid matching his worst ever Forest run, but Spurs will come into the game on the high of reaching the Europa League semi-final.
As well as this more recent confidence, Spurs can take encouragement from the last time Espirito Santo’s Forest travelled to face them in London.
Nottingham Forest have struggled at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium
In April 2024, after Forest’s three consecutive defeats, they travelled to face Tottenham with the relegation scrap still very much on.
It wasn’t a profitable trip either, with Forest losing 3-1 to Spurs after goals by Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro, as well as an own goal by Murillo.
Matz Sels was a standout against Spurs last season, just as he was on Boxing Day in this campaign. However, he could only do so much in North London and with the contrasting emotions of the two in the build-up to Monday’s game, a similar story could unfold.
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