Nottingham Forest questions as they face another injury blow ahead of Man Utd clash but unfortunately…
Latest Nottingham Forest news as Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds prepare to face Manchester United at the City Ground
Nottingham Forest have a big couple of games ahead at the City Ground as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side aim to bounce back from their weekend defeat at Aston Villa.
The Reds take on Manchester United in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday (7.45pm kick-off), with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs. And on Saturday, they host Liverpool in an important Premier League clash (3pm).
Ahead of the midweek cup tie, Forest reporter Sarah Clapson held a live Q&A on our Reds Facebook page. Below is a look at how it panned out…
A: Wednesday night is a real opportunity for Forest. It is an opportunity not just to progress to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, which would be brilliant, but I think it can also be a stepping stone for Saturday.
It’s a big game against Liverpool at the weekend. If Forest can go into it on the back of a good performance and hopefully a positive result against Man United, that could go a long way.
I take your point about a sporadic lack of confidence. I think that ties into Forest’s inconsistency, both collectively and individually. You have players being brilliant one week and then having a bit of a stinker the next. Nicolas Dominguez, Murillo and Felipe were cases in point last weekend. They were integral to the win over West Ham but then were not at their best against Villa. They weren’t the only ones.
Establishing some level of consistency is going to be crucial. For me, it’s going to be so important for Forest to have a relatively settled side.
Nuno has had to contend with a fair amount of injuries and absences. It has been tough for him to name the same XI week to week. But having the opportunity to go on a bit of a run with a fairly settled team would really help – and that can help with confidence, too.
Man United have been up and down. They go into the tie on the back of a difficult weekend. Forest also have the knowledge that they beat them in the league at the City Ground in one of Nuno’s first games in charge.
It will be a different contest this time around, but I still think it’s there for the taking. We know the kind of atmosphere a big night under the lights at the City Ground can generate. If Forest can get the win, there wouldn’t just be an FA Cup quarter-final to celebrate, they would also have a bit of momentum to take into Saturday. I’m with you on that one.
