Nottingham Forest had a confident start to the season, creating a decent gap from the relegation zone, but later noticeably slowed down. Over the course of five rounds, the “Forest” has been unable to secure a victory. Moreover, they only managed to break a streak of four defeats in the last game, drawing with “Wolverhampton” (1:1). In the league table, the team is positioned in 16th place, with a five-point gap from the relegation zone. In terms of gameplay, Steve Cooper’s team lacks consistency. Much depends on Tywo Awoniyi in attack, who has scored four goals. However, due to an injury, he won’t be able to take the field today. Additionally, defender Serge Aurier will be absent. In their last two home matches, “Nottingham Forest” failed to earn any points, losing to “Brighton” (2:3) and “Everton” (0:1).
In the previous round, Tottenham ended a five-match winless streak by defeating Newcastle 4-1 at home. In that game, they managed to score two goals in the first half, and overall, the Londoners completely controlled the course of the match. Undoubtedly, such a confident victory can boost the morale of the players. The primary objective is to return to the top four. Before the start of the 17th round, the team is in fifth place, trailing Manchester City by four points. Throughout the season, Nuno Espirito Santo’s team has performed well in away matches, earning 15 points out of a total of 30. Moreover, Tottenham has lost only once on the road, conceding a 1-2 defeat to Wolverhampton. Tottenham still has several injured players, but with squad depth and no participation in European competitions, they can manage. Today, midfielders James Maddison, Ivan Perisic, and Rodrigo Bentancur, defenders Eric Dier and Micky van de Ven, as well as forward Manor Solomon, will not be able to take the field.