Key events
Nuno speaks, saying the time on the training ground has been good and his team need to play better than they did in losing to Everton last weekend – though their opponents deserve credit.
He knows Spurs are a tough opponent – you just have to look at their teamsheet – but the team have earned the right to fight for Champions League and the theme in the dressing room is “responsibility”.
I’ve been really impressed with Elliot Anderson this season. He looked a decent player at Newcastle, who sold him to make PSR ends meet, not because they didn’t want him, his combination of physicality and skill turning Forest into a different team. Spurs, though, have picked a pretty robust midfield three, so it could get tasty in there, perhaps even with a bit of the kind of thing that NO ONE wants to see.
Forest, meanwhile, will soak up pressure, blocking up the centre while keeping Spurs in front of them. I’d actually not be shocked if Gibbs-White makes an extra man in the middle, as opposed to playing as a regular winger, but when he does pull wide, he might fancy his chances against Spence, who’s not on his natural side.
Where is the game? Well, we know what Spurs will do: press high, with a high line; and we know what Forest will do: sit deep and counter. Simple?
Not quite. With Richarlison through the middle, not Solanke, I’m not totally certain what type of goal Spurs will be trying to score. I think they’ll be hoping Kulusevski drives through midfield; that Tel makes another man in the box; and Odobert and Porro get around the outside to pick out cut-backs.
Burnley and Leeds are promoted to the Premier League!
The former have beaten third-placed Sheffield United 2-1; Niall McVeigh has all the reaction here:
I thought Nuno would fancy setting Hudson-Odoi against Pedro Porro, but he’s opted to solidify in midfield. I think that’s a shame as I love Gibbs-White in the centre, but we may well see it later on as Spurs tire.
I know he’s been on the bench recently, but I was a little surprised Kulusevski didn’t start in midweek. He’s been one of Spurs’ best players since signing for them, and will be desperate to force his way back in before the Europa semi. He’ll start in midfield tonight for the first time in a while, and will feel that, though Maddison and Bentancur are likely locks, Bergvall’s spot might yet be his, likewise Tel’s.
Nuno, meanwhile, makes three alterations: out go Alex Moreno, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Jota Silva, with Harry Toffolo, Danilo and Anrthony Elanga replacing them.
Postecoglou said he’d make changes and he has. Following a physical test in Frankfurt and with a semi soon come, he benches Lucas Bergvall, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke with Destiny Udogie not in the squad, while bringing in Djed Spence, Pape Sarr, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison.
I’ll write these down, then we’ll get into what they’re about.
Teams!
Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Sarr, Bentancur, Kulusevski; Odobert, Richarlison, Tel. Subs: Kinsky, Davies, Danso, Gray, Bissouma, Bergvall, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke.
Nottingham Forest (4-3-3): Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Toffolo; Anderson, Dominguez, Danilo; Gibbs-White, Elanga, Wood. Subs: Miguel, Morato, Sangare, Awoniyi, Hudson-Odoi, Moreno, Yates, Sosa, Abbott.
Going on as we speak:
Preamble
These clubs are pretty much opposites. Yes, Forest are good and Spurs aren’t, I sense you chortle, and you’re right, they are and they are. But there’s more to it than that.
Forest are effective and efficient, scoring relatively few and conceding relatively few; Spurs, on the other hand, are infuriating and inept, relatively prolific and relatively profligate — underachieving as their opponents are over-achieving. As such, Forest could scarcely be a happier club and, though Spurs being Spurs, they’ve plenty of misery still to realise, at the same time, they’re not exactly loving life at the moment.
And, of course, Forest are managed by Nuno Espírito Santo, increasingly loved by supporters with good reason, after giving them a sensational season; meantime Spurs – who sacked him after just four months in the job – are led by Ange Postecoglou, increasingly disliked by supporters after picking fights with them for reasons only he understands. Where Nuno needs points for Champions League qualification, Postecoglou might soon be pointed towards the door.
Yet, football being football, there’s always a yet: Forest have lost their last two games and are out of the top five for the first time in months while, on Thursday night, Spurs recorded their biggest win of the season, a 1-0 triumph in Frankfurt taking them into a Europa League semi against Bodo/Glimt. It might just be that they are running into form, just as it’s possible that Forest have run out of it. We shall see!
Kick-off: 8pm BST
