Elanga in, Jota out – Nottingham Forest predicted team as Nuno demands Spurs response
Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has called for a reaction from his Nottingham Forest players as they look to bounce back from successive defeats.
“More than reaction, action,” was the message from the Portuguese ahead of Monday night’s trip to face Tottenham Hotspur (8pm kick-off). But Nuno himself faces a key decision over whether his actions should involve making changes to his starting line-up.
Should his response to last Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Everton involve shuffling his pack? The fact his players will have had more than a week’s rest and recovery time between fixtures might impact his thinking.
That would particularly be the case if Ola Aina gets the green light to feature in the capital. In his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Nuno was coy about the full-back’s fitness as he continues to recover from a calf issue.
As he usually does, he said any injury issues would continue to be assessed right up until the game. If Aina is fit, it would be a huge boost for the Reds. He has been sorely missed in the last couple of games.
Alex Moreno did not have the best of afternoons against the Toffees, when stepping in for Aina at left-back. If there is the opportunity to start the Nigeria international, it would be a tempting one for Nuno.
The Forest boss will no doubt also weigh up whether to mix up his midfield. He went with the pairing of Nicolas Dominguez and Elliot Anderson last time out, but given the hosts were collectively well below-par on the day it might be that he considers a change.
Is Monday night a Ryan Yates-type game? The skipper is certainly a player whose commitment can never be questioned, but it might be that he finds himself on the bench again.
At the top end of the pitch, eyebrows were raised when Anthony Elanga was among the substitutes, rather than in the XI, last weekend. However, Nuno said he was having to manage the winger after he sustained a knock against Aston Villa a week earlier.
The extra recovery time this week will hopefully have benefitted the Swede ahead of the journey south and it would be no surprise if he makes the line-up on Monday. Jota Silva has given a good account of himself in the last two outings and deserved his place in the team against Everton, but might be called upon to make an impact from the bench this time.
Forest predicted XI: Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Dominguez, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
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