Nottingham Forest head into a big run of games after seeing their unbeaten Premier League run ended by Fulham at the weekend.
Steve Cooper’s side face a tough challenge to get back on track, with a visit from Manchester City next on the horizon. But after that, they have a trip to face West Ham United, followed by a home game against Everton - two teams who are also fighting to stay up.
With a significant injury list also having an impact, there was plenty to talk about in this week’s live Q&A with Reds reporter Sarah Clapson on our Forest Facebook page. Here is how it panned out.
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Q: How about Serge Aurier at centre-back? Heard this could be a thing.
A: He is capable of playing there. He could step in and do a job if needed, which would at least provide some cover on that front. Ryan Yates has also played at centre-back before, but it would be very different doing so in the Premier League.
There’s no getting away from the fact Forest could have a shortage of options for a time, though - depending on how serious the injuries suffered by Scott McKenna and Willy Boly prove to be. Hopefully they are not out for too long, but either way, it’s almost certain Felipe and Joe Worrall will start on Saturday.
Moussa Niakhate is still a little bit away from being available. He’s at the latter end of his rehab and is making good progress, but he only just returned to non-contact training last week. Cooper said it will still be a while before he is up for selection.
Forest will want to be really careful with him. He’s been out for such a long time and has had a number of setbacks, so they won’t want to rush him back. It’s a cliche, but it will be like having a new signing when he does return, though.
Throughout the whole season, whenever he has been hit by injury problems, Cooper has been keen to stress that it’s not something he dwells on or complains about. He just focuses on who is available.
The ‘next man up’ mentality he had last season served Forest really well. And that continues to be the case. Amid all the rotten luck on the injury front, he’ll just get on with the job. It will be no different now.
Q: How far off do you anticipate Awoniyi is to being back in contention? Feel his absence is really being felt now.
A: I’d agree with that. Out of all the injured players, for me, Forest are really missing Awoniyi and Yates at the minute.
Awoniyi had really started to hit his stride before injury. He was giving defenders all sorts of problems, was looking a threat and was scoring goals.
Chris Wood has come in and has struggled so far. Forest haven’t managed to get him into games and they’ve missed Awoniyi’s presence.
Yates has been a big miss, too. Not just because of his passion and the fact he always gives 100 percent, but also because he constantly gets stuck in and helps break up play.
Cooper hasn’t given much away about Awoniyi’s injury and how long he could be sidelined for. Understandably, he can be quite coy when it comes to discussing injuries in general - although it is always tough to predict how long someone will be sidelined for anyway, as we’ve seen with the likes of Niakhate and Omar Richards this season.
Cooper was reluctant to put a timeframe on Awoniyi the last time he gave an update. Will ask if there is any news in this week’s press conference.
Q: What’s the crack with Chris Wood?!
A: He’s had a tough start so far. He’s not made the impact he would have wanted or that Forest would have been hoping for. He’s just not been in any of the games.
I still think it is far too early to be writing him off. He wouldn’t be the first player to take a while to get going - that was the case with Awoniyi at the start of the season, and with others, such as Renan Lodi.
Wood is an experienced player who knows the Premier League, but there’s still no guarantee of settling in straight away. It can take time.
Jonjo Shelvey coming in can help him; having that link-up and someone who knows his game. Shelvey certainly showed his passing range when he came off the bench at the weekend.
Wood is a different option for Cooper; he offers something different to the other attackers on the books. He has the potential to occupy defenders, which can then create space for the likes of Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White.
The challenge for Cooper is to find a way of getting the best out of him, or to find a way of playing which suits him and which still fits with the identity Forest have created. He’s not seen a great deal of the ball in the games he has played, which hasn’t helped.
I still think he has it in him to chip in with a few goals and can have a part to play in the second half of the season. If anybody is capable of getting him firing, Cooper can.
Q: Can’t understand why they brought Wood in when we have Surridge sat on the bench who is a whole lot better player.
A: I’d like to see Surridge get more of a chance. He needs a run to get him going; it’s difficult to have any kind of sharpness in front of goal as a striker when you’re just coming on for a few minutes at a time.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Forest shouldn’t have brought Wood in, though. Cooper needed more attacking options, particularly with the injury to Awoniyi. And the more players in the team who are capable of getting goals, the better.
Wood hasn’t been able to do that yet. But he’s shown he can score at this level before, and it’s still early days.
His experience was also seen as being useful. Forest wanted to bring in some players in January who had that level of know-how, who could slot straight into the Premier League and the starting XI.
Forest still need more from Wood. But there’s still time for him to come good.
How should Forest line up against Manchester City? Have your say in the comments below
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