Head coach Steve Cooper has admitted he is contemplating making changes to his Nottingham Forest starting line-up against Brighton and Hove Albion.
On the back of Saturday’s defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers, and with a clash against Liverpool to come at the weekend, the Welshman could opt to give some players a breather when his team head to the Amex Stadium on Tuesday night (7.30pm kick-off). However, he does have a few who are doubts going into the match.
There are question marks over the fitness of defenders Serge Aurier (muscle) and Renan Lodi (ankle), as well as midfielder Lewis O’Brien (illness). It also remains to be seen if Orel Mangala is deemed fit enough to start, having recently recovered from a hamstring problem.
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The latter came off the bench against Leicester City and Wolves, and Cooper has said he is “getting stronger” thanks to his training programme. If he is seen as being ready to feature in the XI, or if O’Brien has fully shaken off a bug, it could be that the Reds boss tweaks his midfield - perhaps with Cheikhou Kouyate the man to miss out.
Cooper’s challenge as he looks to end an eight-match winless run is to find the right balance between continuing to be defensively solid while also offering more going forward. Forest have tightened up at the back in their last two outings, after previously shipping 18 goals in five games, but they have been short of attacking threat.
Jesse Lingard has been on the bench for the last two fixtures, but could be an option if the manager wants to mix things up. Taiwo Awoniyi was also among the substitutes against both Aston Villa and Wolves, but could come in for Emmanuel Dennis against the Seagulls.
At the back, it seems likely Cooper will stick with a four-man defence, having switched from a three to good effect. Joe Worrall will certainly be pushing to get back into the team, however, having not featured since the 3-2 loss to Fulham, when he came on as a substitute.
Meanwhile, it could be that a change or two is made at full-back, depending on the fitness of Lodi and Aurier. “With it being Saturday-Tuesday, it’s definitely a possibility that we could look at making some changes,” Cooper said ahead of the midweek trip. “I haven’t made a final decision on that yet, because there’s still quite a bit of preparation to go before the game.”
Predicted Forest XI: Henderson; Williams, Cook, McKenna, Toffolo; Yates, Freuler, Mangala; Johnson, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White.
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