Steve Cooper has confirmed his Nottingham Forest team to play Aston Villa this afternoon.
Nottingham Forest starting XI: Vlachodimos; Aina, Niakhate, Murillo, Toffolo; Mangala, Dominguez, Sangare; Elanga, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White.
This looks set to be an intriguing affair at the City Ground today with both teams requiring points for very different reasons.
Forest are without a win in six games, a run that stretches back to September when Steve Cooper oversaw a win over Chelsea.
Villa simply can’t stop winning. Before yesterday’s games, they were the Premier League’s top goalscorers with 26 – only equalled by Newcastle.
As a result, today looks like being a very difficult day for Forest. After signing 13 new players, the Reds look to be in transition once more and Cooper needs a winning formula.
Forest were pretty drab last week at Liverpool. They were beaten 3-0 at Anfield and the team simply has to bounce back today.
Cooper is currently crippled with several injuries to key players. That won’t make life any easier for the Reds today but he won’t be using the absentees as an excuse.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is probably the biggest loss at present, with Cooper confirming that blow after the Luton game. Felipe, Divock Origi and Danilo have all been missing at various stages of the campaign too.
Villa really are a team on the up at the moment. Unai Emery has got them playing some brilliant football and several of their stars will need to be kept at close quarters today.
Now that Forest have confirmed their team the excitement levels will rise. Hopefully at 4pm this afternoon, the Reds can be celebrating another victory.
Today’s City Ground clash will be shown live on Sky Sports. Seb Hutchinson will be bringing live commentary from Trentside.
Elsewhere, full match commentary will be live on BBC Radio Nottingham with Colin Fray covering the match as ever on the usual frequencies.
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