Nottingham Forest’s loss against Newcastle United on Saturday, February 10, extended the Reds’ winless run in the Premier League to four. The defeat to Newcastle was a familiar tale for Forest, who looked threatening in attack but, by the same token, were naive defensively, particularly from set pieces.
African Cup of Nations champions, Ibrahim Sangaré and Willy Boly have returned to the squad but are unavailable to play against the Hammers. The same goes for Nigerian full-back Ola Aina, who lost the final. Here is the Nottingham Forest predicted lineup for the visit of West Ham.
Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup vs West Ham in Premier League Clash
How Nottingham Forest Have Lined-up Recently
Matz Sels has started the last two Premier League matches, replacing the out-of-form Matt Turner. He will be hoping that he can secure Forest’s first clean sheet in the league since November 5, 2023.
Neco Williams has played right-back in the last two league matches and will keep his place given that Gonzalo Montiel is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained in the FA Cup replay against Bristol City.
Nuno Tavares continues to be favoured instead of Harry Toffolo at left-back. The on-loan Arsenal full-back has been inconsistent during his time at Forest so far. A shift to a back five might suit Tavares, as a wing-back role suits his attacking strengths more.
Nuno Espirito Santo has a selection headache in terms of his centre-back pairing due to the threat that West Ham pose from set pieces, as well as Forest’s poor record defending dead-ball situations this season.
Moussa Niakhaté came in to replace Andrew Omobamidele against Newcastle, however, the Reds still looked shaky defensively. Another option is the Brazilian Felipe, who played a key role in Forest’s Premier League survival last season. At 34, there are concerns over his fitness levels, but he was able to play 120 minutes against Bristol City on February 7. A move to a back five is not out of the question for Nuno in an attempt to tighten up the backline.
Nico Dominguez and Ryan Yates started as the two defensive midfielders against Bournemouth, and are likely to continue as a pair against West Ham, unless Nuno opts for Danilo. Sangaré’s continued absence leaves Nuno slightly short of numbers in this area of the pitch.
Anthony Elanga has returned to the starting lineup for the last two matches, scoring his fifth goal of the season against Eddie Howe’s side. Callum Hudson-Odoi is also starting to find some form, scoring in two consecutive matches on the opposite wing.
Forest’s “sensational” Morgan Gibbs-White picked up his fourth assist of the season against Newcastle, and he will be critical to Forest’s chances of picking up three points. Taiwo Awoniyi has started the last two matches and will need to stay fit due to Chris Wood’s hamstring injury, which is set to keep the New Zealand striker out until April.
Nottingham Forest Recent Form and Tactics
Nuno has now been in charge for 11 matches, and in that time, Forest have conceded 19 goals. However, his side have not struggled to find the net going forward, averaging nearly two goals a game. This is a marked improvement on the goals-per-game ratio under Steve Cooper, which was exactly one strike per game during his 55 Premier League matches in charge.
They will look to build on these attacking strengths and put the Hammers under pressure early on in the game, especially given West Ham’s winless run of seven in all competitions and 6-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, February 11.
As already mentioned, though, set-pieces have been a huge problem for Forest this season. Nuno’s side have conceded 15 goals from set-pieces this season as per WhoScored.com, which is the most in the league.
This is something that David Moyes will be looking to capitalise on as they look for a much-needed away win.
Nottingham Forest Injuries to Consider vs West Ham
The manager has two main injury concerns. Wood is still sidelined and looks unlikely to return until early April. Montiel is also unavailable with the timeline for his return undecided. In his press conference on Thursday, February 15, Nuno said: “He is not going to be available. He is in treatment, so let’s wait and see. I am not sure how long he is going to be out for.”
Forest’s AFCON trio, who recently returned from the Ivory Coast, are all unavailable for this game. Boly did not play in the final, however, Sangaré made a late substitute appearance, and Aina played the full 90 minutes.
Nuno said: “They are not going to be available for this game. They will return to us and rejoin the group, but they won’t be available for this game.
“I haven’t spoken to them yet. We expect them to arrive today. Ibrahim, Willy and Serge (Aurier, who has now left the club) were champions and we have to congratulate them. But at the same time, Ola will be disappointed. But for sure, he will have another chance in the future.
“It will definitely be a boost for us because they (Boly and Sangaré) come after a good moment. And they give us options which can make us stronger – that is the most important aspect, that for the first time everybody is going to be together.”
Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup
GK: Matz Sels
RB: Neco Williams
CB: Moussa Niakhaté
CB: Murillo
LB: Nuno Tavares
DM: Ryan Yates
DM: Nico Dominguez
RM: Anthony Elanga
CAM: Morgan Gibbs-White
LM: Callum Hudson-Odoi
ST: Taiwo Awoniyi
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