Preview: Nottingham Forest vs. Tottenham Hotspur - prediction, team news, lineups

Short-serving Tottenham Hotspur manager Nuno Espirito Santo seeks to prolong Spurs' festive misery connected Boxing Day, erstwhile his Nottingham Forest broadside tackle the Lilywhites astatine the City Ground.

Eight points and 7 places abstracted the 2 foes successful the Premier League table astatine present, arsenic the Garibaldi proceed to heighten their Champions League credentials portion Spurs languish successful the little echelons of the standings.

Match preview

© Imago

Channelling his interior Russell Crowe with his "are you not entertained" quip aft Tottenham's enthralling EFL Cup quarter-final triumph implicit Manchester United, Postecoglou witnessed his troops enactment connected different sensational spectacle for the neutrals against Liverpool, but helium chopped a overmuch little affable fig afterwards.

The league leaders exposed Spurs' precocious enactment astatine volition and ne'er looked successful information of throwing distant their steadfast vantage contempt a precocious antiaircraft collapse, arsenic Liverpool came retired connected the close extremity of a 6-3 scoreline to condemn Tottenham to their 4th consecutive Premier League location crippled without a win.

As mesmerising and memorable arsenic Tottenham tin beryllium nether Postecoglou - some for the close and incorrect reasons - the grim world is that the Lilywhites volition walk Christmas Day successful the bottommost fractional of the Premier League table, 8 points adrift of the Champions League places.

Postecoglou's defiant assertion that he "always" wins trophies successful his 2nd season whitethorn inactive ringing true, but Spurs would person to get past Liverpool and past 1 of Arsenal oregon Newcastle United for that to hap successful the EFL Cup, and their disheartening wintertime grounds reads 3 wins from their past 11 games successful each competitions.

However, Spurs' never-say-die cognition successful the sojourn of Liverpool saw them people astatine slightest 3 goals for the 4th clip successful their past 5 games, and Postecoglou's broadside are remarkably the joint-best antiaircraft squad connected the roadworthy this season, lone shipping 8 Premier League goals connected rival territory truthful far.

© Imago

Speaking of backlines excelling connected the road, fewer could person foreseen Nottingham Forest quelling a goal-happy Brentford astatine the Gtech Community Stadium fortress, wherever the Bees had scored a whopping 26 goals successful conscionable 8 games anterior to Saturday's game.

However, Thomas Frank's troops were stunted by Santo's Champions League chasers, who struck either broadside of the half-time whistle done Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga to extremity Brentford's unbeaten Premier League location grounds and registry their 3rd triumph successful succession.

Showing fewer signs of faltering successful their unexpected bid for elite European football, the fourth-placed Garibaldi person moved to wrong 2 points of Arsenal - whom they volition overtake with triumph connected Boxing Day - portion besides opening up a four-point vantage implicit champions-in-crisis Manchester City.

Nine Premier League wins from 17 games is already arsenic galore arsenic Forest managed successful the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Premier League campaigns, and a 10th occurrence of the play connected Thursday would people Forest's 4th Premier League triumph successful a row; not since 1995 person they achieved that feat.

Santo should besides necessitate nary added inducement to slay the broadside that sacked him conscionable 17 games into his tenure successful 2021, but Forest are connected a six-game losing streak against Tottenham successful the Premier League, going down successful each of their past 3 astatine the City Ground without scoring.

Nottingham Forest Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur signifier (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

Seven games later, Tottenham midfield fulcrum Rodrigo Bentancur is yet disposable for home fixtures again aft his lengthy suspension, and Postecoglou has besides confirmed that Destiny Udogie should beryllium good aft helium was restricted to a watching little implicit the weekend.

However, the visitors inactive cannot telephone upon Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Cristian Romero (thigh), Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Mikey Moore (illness), Wilson Odobert (hamstring), Richarlison (thigh) and Ben Davies (thigh), though the second mightiness beryllium backmost for the Wolverhampton Wanderers clash connected December 29.

As Bentancur has been kept ticking implicit successful the Europa League during his home ban, Postecoglou should person nary qualms astir throwing him backmost successful for Thursday's game, wherever Son Heung-min volition purpose to physique connected the 4 goals and 2 assists helium has registered successful erstwhile Boxing Day matches.

While Tottenham volition beryllium welcoming a South American midfielder backmost from a ban, Nottingham Forest person mislaid 1 of their ain to suspension, arsenic Nicolas Dominguez was cautioned for the 5th clip this play successful the triumph implicit Brentford.

Dominguez was lone a second-half substitute astatine the Gtech Community Stadium anyway, arsenic Santo sprung a astonishment by switching to a 3-4-2-1 shape, introducing Morato into the backline arsenic Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White formed an attack-minded midfield pairing.

Ryan Yates volition expect to instrumentality for a necktie of this magnitude, perchance successful spot of Anderson if Santo keeps religion with Morato successful defence, but Danilo (ankle) and Ibrahim Sangare (hamstring) stay out.

Nottingham Forest imaginable starting lineup:
Sels; Morato, Murillo, Milenkovic; Aina, Yates, Gibbs-White, Moreno; Hudson-Odoi, Elanga; Wood

We say: Nottingham Forest 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham whitethorn beryllium capable to boast the Premier League's champion antiaircraft grounds distant from location alongside Manchester United, but that volition number for small against an inspired Forest broadside if their caller vulnerabilities are exposed erstwhile again.

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