Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper rang the changes for Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa - and his decisions paid off with an improved performance.
But while the Reds stopped the rot as they picked up a point at the City Ground, the performance leaves head coach Cooper with a dilemma over whether to stick with that line-up - and formation - against Wolverhampton Wanderers this afternoon (3pm kick-off).
Neco Williams, Renan Lodi, Lewis O’Brien, Jesse Lingard and Taiwo Awoniyi all dropped out of the side as Cooper sought a response to a dismal display in the 4-0 thumping at Leicester City which had made it five defeats in a row. Serge Aurier, Harry Toffolo, Ryan Yates, Remo Freuler and Emmanuel Dennis will hope they did enough against Villa to keep their places at Molineux.
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Forest stuck with four at the back against Steven Gerrard’s side, but Cooper also packed the midfield in a bid to tighten things up. His team certainly looked more compact and solid, and they started to look like a more cohesive unit.
Although the hosts did not manage to keep a clean-sheet, goalkeeper Dean Henderson was only beaten by a fierce long-range strike and didn’t have too many other saves to make. With that in mind, the manager may decide to keep the same defence in place at Wolves, like Villa another side struggling for goals.
Full-backs Aurier and Toffolo will hope to have caught the eye, having put in workmanlike performances - although Williams did add some energy when he was brought off the bench. Skipper Joe Worrall, meanwhile, will no doubt be trying to impress in training in a bid to get back in the XI.
In the centre of the pitch, the trio of Cheikhou Kouyate, Yates and Freuler generally worked well together. O’Brien hadn’t been able to make the impact he would no doubt hoped to have done when in the team at the King Power Stadium, but he has still made a solid start to life Trentside. Cooper will weigh up whether to bring the former Huddersfield Town man back into the starting line-up.
It also remains to be seen whether Orel Mangala is in contention for a start. Having made his comeback from injury as a substitute against the Foxes, he didn’t get on the pitch on Monday night. However, he had impressed prior to picking up a hamstring problem.
In attack, Dennis made the most of his first league start for the club by getting on the scoresheet. But there was also a bright cameo appearance by Sam Surridge, who has not been in the XI in the league since the opening day of the campaign.
Breaking the losing run was crucial, and while it wasn’t always pretty, Forest gave themselves something to build on against Villa. Picking the right line-up to do just that at Wolves is Cooper’s next challenge. While he continues to work out his best team, might he decide not to make any changes this time?
Predicted Forest XI: Henderson; Aurier, Cook, McKenna, Toffolo; Kouyate, Yates, Freuler; Johnson, Dennis, Gibbs-White.
What would be your Forest XI at Wolves? Have your say in the comments
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