Tottenham have had a decent start to their 2022/23 campaign, with two wins and a draw in their first three fixtures. On Wednesday night, Antonio Conte found out his side would be facing Nottingham Forest away, in their first Carabao Cup match of the season.
The Italian has already made major improvements to the Spurs side, both on and off the pitch, in less than a year. The Lilywhites will hope they can do better in the Premier League this season after finishing in fourth during the 2021/22 campaign.
Another major thing Tottenham fans will hope Conte can end, is their 14-year trophy drought. Silverware is something supporters have been longing for for too long and this will hopefully be the season to change that.
READ MORE: Carabao Cup round three draw in full: Man City v Chelsea, Arsenal v Brighton, Forest v Tottenham
Spurs' first chance will be in the Carabao Cup, with the draw taking place on Wednesday night. There are a number of all Premier League ties, with Man City and Chelsea being a standout.
Tottenham's next Premier League match is against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, who they now know they will be facing in the cup. Steve Cooper's side have won one, drawn one and lost one of their first few league fixtures, so not a bad start for the newly promoted side.
Although Spurs may have preferred a lower league side in the cup competition, facing Forest could have many advantages. The match doesn't take place until the week commencing November 7.
This comes between Forest's home tie against Brentford and another home tie against Crystal Palace. Although a busy week of games, it will work in Cooper's sides favour with all three fixtures on home turf.
Meanwhile, Tottenham will have to travel to face Bournemouth a few days before the match at the City Ground and then return to N17 to face Leeds. The Leeds game will be the Lilywhites' final fixture before the World Cup break.
Even if the players have started to feel a bit tired by that point, with the busy fixture schedule in the previous month, the cup tie will hopefully be one final push before the break. Another potential boost will be the side that Forest put out. Newly promoted sides want to ensure they can stay in the top flight for longer than a season. It may also depend how Forest are doing, with the match not being for another month and a half or so.
Cooper may opt for a slightly weakened team against Spurs to ensure his top players are fit for the Premier League games either side. The priority for the club will be remaining in the top flight for at least another season, as is often the case with newly-promoted sides.
This could definitely work in Tottenham's favour, but they will need to ensure they are not complacent, as it doesn't mean the match still won't be a tough one. Playing Forest this Sunday can also only be a boost for Conte.
The Spurs camp would've already done their research and analysis to prepare the Lilywhites for the trip to the Midlands. Having Djed Spence in the squad, who was heavily involved in Cooper's side last season, can also only help on gaining information on their tactics.
The 53-year-old will also see exactly how Forest setup and identify any weaknesses his side can exploit in a bid to reach the next round of the cup. Although it is still a while away, these are all factors Tottenham can take into the Carabao Cup match to give them the biggest advantage possible.
Of course this also works the other way round, with Forest likely to make assessments of Spurs too. However, Conte's experience of winning and influence he has already had on the Tottenham team will hopefully mean he can lead the Lilywhites to finally have some success in cup competitions.
READ NEXT:
Antonio Conte has easy £59m decision to make on 'phenomenal' Tottenham player amid exit talk
Harry Kane contract update, Tottenham's Adama Traore decision and a transfer window twist
The four Tottenham players who could hand Antonio Conte major transfer boost with loan moves
Tottenham's best and worst case Champions League group stage draw scenarios facing Antonio Conte
