Nottingham Forest will be looking to make it two Premier League wins in a row tonight when they travel to face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side come into the meeting off the back of a crucial 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday night, after Chris Wood’s fifth league goal of the season.
The Reds will be looking to build on their excellent league start to the campaign which has seen them lose just once from the first eight outings, boasting the second-best defensive record in the division, with only Liverpool scoring fewer.
However, if they are to make it back-to-back wins and preserve their unbeaten away record, they will have to claim a victory at the home of the Foxes for the first time since 2013.
The hosts also come into the meeting off the back of an impressive 3-2 victory away at Southampton last weekend after being 2-0 at the break.
03/10/2022
4-0
Loss
09/11/2013
2-0
Win
10/11/2012
2-2
Draw
27/03/2012
0-0
Draw
29/11/2010
1-0
Loss
Whilst Forest tend not to class Leicester as one of their rivals, the game will have the added edge throughout, given the circumstances of Foxes’ boss Steve Cooper.
Steve Cooper’s time at Nottingham Forest
No words can quite do the job conducted by Cooper at the City Ground justice, entering the club like a breath of fresh air and transforming the club on and off the pitch.
The 44-year-old replaced Chris Hughton at the helm after a run of eight games without a win at the start of the 2021/22 campaign – before producing his magic and creating a deadly side in the Championship.
The former Swansea City boss dragged the Reds off the bottom of the table, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion, going on to secure a return to the Premier League after a play-off final triumph over Huddersfield Town at Wembley.
Cooper was adored by the fans, reuniting a fanbase after numerous years of failures on the pitch, which was only enhanced by his ability to keep the club in the top flight after promotion, beating Arsenal 1-0 on the penultimate matchday of the 2022/23 season and somehow gelling a squad with 30 new additions together.
However, his third season in charge of the East Midlands side wouldn’t be as successful, receiving his marching orders in December 2023 after a run of eight league matches without a win.
Undoubtedly, it was a difficult decision taken by owner Evangelos Marinakis given Cooper’s achievements during his tenure, but ultimately, he had to do what he thought was right to secure his club’s Premier League status.
Fast-forward nearly a year on from his City Ground departure, the Welshman now leads East Midlands rivals Leicester, looking to get one over his former employers this weekend.
However, if Nuno is to prevent such a feat from happening, he must drop one player from his starting lineup, with the talent failing to produce his best form in recent weeks.
Why Nuno should drop Anthony Elanga for Leicester
Winger Anthony Elanga enjoyed an excellent debut campaign as a Forest player last time out, registering a combined 14 goal contributions in all competitions and helping the club secure survival for the second season in a row.
He ended the campaign just one contribution behind Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White, playing an influential role under Nuno after his appointment at the end of December.
However, he’s struggled to recapture that form in 2024/25, registering just one assist in his first nine appearances – coming in the infamous 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield back in September.
The Sweden international started the last meeting with Palace on Monday but was replaced just after the hour mark after failing to make his mark on the encounter.
Elanga only managed 36 touches, failing to complete both of his attempted dribbles past Tyrick Mitchell, losing all three battles as he was outclassed on the banks of the River Trent.
Minutes played
63
Touches
36
Passes completed
17/22 (77%)
Crosses completed
2/7
Dribbles completed
0/2
Duels won
0/3
Possession lost
16x
Shots taken
0
Ultimately, the 22-year-old hasn’t looked the same since Newcastle United had a £50m bid for his services rejected on deadline day of the last transfer window, failing to demonstrate why the Magpies were willing to fork out such a hefty fee for his services.
As a result, Nuno must take action, needing to drop the former Manchester United talent to the bench for tonight’s clash and replace him with a star who is more than deserving of a first league start.
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The man who should replace Elanga against Leicester
Over the summer, Marinakis once again opened his chequebook and gave the funds to Nuno, allowing him to invest the money where the Portuguese man thought necessary.
Key defensive signings like Nikola Milenkovic were made, but Nuno also spent the cash investing in new wingers, with Jota Silva arriving in a £5.9m deal, before add-ons, from Liga Portugal side Vitoria Guimaraes.
He was an unknown quantity to many at the time of his arrival, only going off the nickname the ‘Portuguese Jack Grealish’, but he quickly demonstrated to the Forest faithful the talents he possesses.
The 25-year-old bagged the levelling goal against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup, with many fans calling for a league start off the back of his Man of the Match display.
However, despite registering an assist in the 2-2 draw with Brighton, Silva is yet to make a start under Nuno – coming off the bench once more against Palace earlier in the week.
The winger again showcased his work rate and quality, completing more dribbles and winning duels than the Swede despite featuring for over half an hour less than his teammate.
With Gibbs-White still touch and go ahead of the clash due to his ongoing ankle issue, the Reds have often lacked creativity in attacking areas, something which Jota, the attacking “machine”, as dubbed by journalist Tomas de Cunha, brings in an abundance.
It’s a huge opportunity for Forest to further strengthen their grip on a top-half place, with Nuno needing to opt for Jota if his side are to win a second successive league outing.
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