Head coach Steve Cooper has some selection dilemmas as Nottingham Forest’s focus turns back to the Premier League.
The Reds will look to make it five league games unbeaten when they host Leeds United on Sunday (2pm kick-off). Cooper still has a significant injury list to contend with, but Felipe, Keylor Navas and Jonjo Shelvey all put pen to paper on deadline day earlier this week, while Andre Ayew joined as a free agent after the window closed.
Wayne Hennessey has been between the posts for the last three games, following an injury to Dean Henderson. Cooper will now weigh up whether to throw Navas straight in for his debut this weekend, though.
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If the PSG loanee does replace Hennessey, it could be that Cooper won’t want to make too many changes to the back line ahead of him. It could be seen as a gamble to start a new goalkeeper and a new centre-back, in Felipe, at the same time, with both having had little chance to get to know their new teammates.
Joe Worrall was on the bench for Wednesday night’s defeat at Manchester United in the Carabao Cup but could come back into the defence if the Reds boss opts not to start Felipe. Alternatively, Cooper could stick with the centre-back partnership of Willy Boly and Scott McKenna which started at Old Trafford.
Neco Williams made a case to keep his place at right-back with a decent performance in the 2-0 defeat. Serge Aurier has suffered a dip in form of late, but had previously been a key figure for Forest.
Cooper will hope to have midfielder Ryan Yates available again for the weekend. He does have options in the centre of the pitch, though. Gustavo Scarpa is able to play a deeper role, and Danilo has done well in his few appearances so far.
Further up the pitch, the Reds have been left sweating on the fitness of Jesse Lingard. The attacker had been included in the XI to face his former club in midweek but suffered an Achilles’ problem in the warm-up. It’s unlikely any risks will be taken, while Morgan Gibbs-White is expected to be sidelined for “a little while” with an ankle issue.
Scarpa could take up the No.10 spot in their absence, with the arrival of Ayew and Chris Wood providing options in attack. The latter was cup-tied for the games against United and had endured a tough debut against Bournemouth, but has had valuable time to train with the squad since then.
Predicted Forest XI: Navas; Aurier, Worrall, Boly, Lodi; Freuler, Danilo, Mangala; Scarpa; Johnson, Wood.
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