The big decisions facing Nuno as Nottingham Forest await fitness update for West Ham clash
by Sarah Clapson · NottinghamshireLiveNottingham Forest go into this weekend with an opportunity to do something they have not managed since their return to the Premier League.
When West Ham United visit the City Ground on Saturday (3pm kick-off), the Reds will be bidding to make it three league wins in a row. They sit seventh in the table on the back of victories over Crystal Palace and Leicester City, and will be eager to keep that momentum going against the Hammers.
Not since May 1999 have Forest recorded a straight hat-trick of Premier League wins. If Nuno Espirito Santo’s side can manage it this weekend, it would go down as a fabulous achievement.
Nuno will once again have to watch from the stands as he misses the last game of a three-match touchline suspension. But before then, the Portuguese must weigh up whether to stick or twist with a winning XI.
A strong case can be made for naming the same team on Saturday. However, much will depend on whether Morgan Gibbs-White is fit.
The attacker was seemingly not involved in training on Tuesday as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. Fans invited to an open session at the City Ground noted his absence, although he was spotted standing on the sidelines close to the tunnel area.
Gibbs-White continues to be a big miss for the Reds; whenever he does return it will be a big boost for the team. But Forest have coped well in his absence, coming away with maximum points from the two games he has missed.
Elliot Anderson has stepped in for Gibbs-White at No 10 and has impressed in the role. If the latter is ruled out of this weekend’s match, it would make sense for the former Newcastle United man to once again take up that position.
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Of course, if Gibbs-White does get the green light to feature, Anderson could drop back into a midfield role. However, Ryan Yates and Nicolas Dominguez have been excellent together in the centre of the pitch for the last two games - breaking up that partnership is not a decision to take lightly. West Ham loanee James Ward-Prowse will hope to get back in the starting line-up eventually, having been an unused substitute at the King Power Stadium and suspended against Palace, but he is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Ward-Prowse is not the only player eager for a starting spot. Jota Silva and Ramon Sosa continued to push their cases for first league starts with bright cameo appearances against the Foxes. Nuno seems keen to ease the duo in gradually, but Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga will know the pair are breathing down their necks.
As for up front and at the back, it is difficult to see Nuno making any changes. The Reds have benefitted from consistency in selection when it comes to their defence, while striker Chris Wood is one of the first names on the team-sheet at the minute thanks to the red-hot form he is in.
Forest predicted XI to face West Ham (assuming Gibbs-White is absent): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Dominguez; Elanga, Anderson, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.