Head coach Steve Cooper has named his Nottingham Forest team to face Manchester United in this afternoon’s Premier League clash.
The Reds find themselves in the relegation zone ahead of kick-off, having gone nine games without a win. But it remains tight at the bottom end of the table, with 17th-placed Everton above the dotted line on goal difference and 16th-placed Leeds United only two points ahead.
A 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa last time out extended Forest’s miserable run, albeit they did put in a better performance. It also came with more bad news on the injury front as Cheikhou Kouyate and Moussa Niakhate both limped off with hamstring problems.
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The latter is fit enough to keep his place in the line-up at the City Ground today, however. And there is a return to the XI for defenders Scott McKenna and Renan Lodi.
Cooper makes four changes to the side which started at Villa Park. He sticks with a three-man defence, with McKenna lining up alongside Niakhate and Felipe. Lodi returns at left wing-back, with Neco Williams on the right.
Remo Freuler returns to the side in midfield, partnering Danilo. Morgan Gibbs-White will support Brennan Johnson and Taiwo Awoniyi in attack. The substitutes’ bench is made up of Wayne Hennessey, Joe Worrall, Orel Mangala, Jonjo Shelvey, Jesse Lingard, Harry Toffolo, Sam Surridge, Emmanuel Dennis and Andre Ayew.
Forest: Navas; Williams, Felipe, Niakhate, McKenna, Lodi; Danilo, Freuler; Gibbs-White; Johnson, Awoniyi. Subs: Hennessey, Worrall, Mangala, Shelvey, Lingard, Toffolo, Surridge, Dennis, Ayew.
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