Nottingham Forest face a tough test on Friday night when they make the trip to second-placed Bournemouth.
But Steve Cooper’s side will be aiming to give their own promotion hopes a boost by claiming a positive result against the Cherries.
They make the trip without first-choice goalkeeper Brice Samba, following his red card in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at home to Stoke City. And that will give back-up stopper Ethan Horvath the opportunity to show what he can do, as the American is likely to make his first appearance since September.
Reds reporter Sarah Clapson answered fans’ questions ahead of the game in a live Q&A on our Forest Facebook page.
Q: It’s strange, but I feel more confident going into this game than I did going into Stoke, because of the much-needed week’s rest, and because it’s “Bournemouth”.
A: Stoke always had the feeling of being a bit of a dangerous one, because they are a decent side and because Forest had had a really tough week, with the exertions of a thrilling win over Leicester and a tough one at Blackburn.
The extra rest Forest will have going into Friday night, compared with how they were against Stoke, will be a huge help. You’d expect a few players to look a bit fresher against Bournemouth than they did on Saturday.
I fancy Forest to get something.
Bournemouth are very strong, and they are one of the sides expected to go up. But I don’t think the gap between them and other teams in the Championship is so big that Forest should worry about going there. And they won’t, because they don’t approach games like that under Steve Cooper.
Bournemouth are beatable. And if Forest play to their potential, they are more than capable of getting something.
One of the main changes under Cooper has been that Forest approach every game looking to win, no matter who they are up against.
That mentality was evident on Saturday, when Alex Mighten was brought on for Steve Cook. It was a real attack-minded substitution. Yes, it was at home, but I do think the manager would do that in similar circumstances away, too. He wants to win games.
Forest go out on the pitch with a real intent now.
That’s what they’ll do on Friday. They certainly won’t go to Bournemouth fearing the opposition.
A draw would be a good result, because it will be a tough game, but I wouldn’t put it past Forest to get a win.
Q: Brice Samba had been on the edge for a while - look at the incident against Derby. What do you make of him?
A: Samba does play on the edge. That side of his character is part of his game.
But it’s so important that he learns lessons from what happened against Stoke.
From now until May the games are only going to grow in magnitude, and no team can afford to lose their first-choice goalkeeper for something as idiotic as that.
Rash moments like that, and the ones against Leicester and Derby, can be so costly, with even greater consequences the deeper into the season you get. You don’t want games to be won or lost based on your goalkeeper making those kinds of really poor decisions.
Samba is better than that, that’s what is so frustrating. He is a better goalkeeper than that. He doesn’t need to do those things.
He didn’t need to get involved in the Derby incident. He didn’t need to come so far out of his box against Leicester. And he didn’t need to swat Phil Jagielka over the head on Saturday.
It’s just careless on his part.
He really does need to cut that out of his game. You don’t want him to lose his edge, but if he keeps himself in check a bit more, he can be an even better goalkeeper.
Hopefully Saturday has made him realise where the line is.
Q: Ethan Horvath didn’t look good when he played against Middlesbrough, in Chris Hughton’s last game. His distribution was poor and he looked nervy all game. How do you think he’ll do if he replaces Samba?
A: I think it would be wrong to write Horvath off based on that one league game.
He did well in the Carabao Cup games he played before that, making some really good saves against Wolves.
There might be a bit of concern over whether he’s rusty, given he hasn’t played for so long. But he’ll definitely have a point to prove in these next three games.
He’ll want to show that he’s better than that Middlesbrough game. And he’ll know that he’s got a massive opportunity in front of him while Samba is suspended.
He should be really fired up to take his chance.
He came to Forest wanting to play, so this is his big opportunity to push his case forward - give the manager something to think about, whether it be for the rest of the season or come the summer.
He’s got a very solid defence in front of him, with Joe Worrall, Scott McKenna and Steve Cook, which will be a huge help for him.
It’s also a completely different situation to when Horvath last played. Forest are a completely different team now. There’s more belief and confidence about the squad, and that will feed through to Horvath.
That Middlesbrough game was a horrible night, not just for him, but Chris Hughton was already on the brink going into it. The atmosphere was terrible, morale was low and the manager’s future was in doubt.
That’s not a nice situation for a goalkeeper to come into the side. There was a lot of pressure on him - he’ll have known the predicament Hughton was in and that Forest were on a poor run of form.
Friday is a totally different prospect and a completely different environment for him to come into. The atmosphere around Forest is like chalk and cheese compared to when he last played.
It will be a tough night for Horvath. But in Steve Cooper, he’s got a manager who will make him feel a million dollars before he goes out there; this is when his man-management skills can come to the fore.
Q: Would you bring Ryan Yates into the team on Friday?
A: I’d definitely bring Yates back in. For me, Saturday showed how much Forest need him. He was missed. He came on and made a difference.
But who you leave out is difficult.
Jack Colback and James Garner are also doing very, very well. You could play Garner in a more advanced role, but that means leaving out one of the attacking players - most likely Philip Zinckernagel, who has also been in decent form.
Colback has been back to the kind of form he showed a few years ago when he was on loan. And Garner has been back to his best, too.
I would probably leave out Zinckernagel at Bournemouth, and play Garner further forward - he can be really effective in that position.
Garner should have got another boost from scoring against Blackburn, so it would be good to see him get a few more goals. Forest need people to contribute from all over the pitch.
