Nottingham Forest take on Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day as Nuno Espirito Santo aims to get one over on his struggling former employers.
Nuno’s Tottenham stint was short and remarkably forgettable, but the former Portuguese goalkeeper has worked wonders at the City Ground. After keeping Forest up last season, the East Midlanders entered Christmas fourth in the Premier League table and boast genuine aspirations of claiming European football.
The job performed by Nuno is comparable to his work at Molineux. After returning Wolves to the top flight in 2018, a stellar season saw them qualify for the Europa League, and they enjoyed quite the continental journey before it was cut short by eventual winners Sevilla in the quarter-finals.
Spurs harbour hopes of winning that competition this term, with their domestic indifference meaning Ange Postecoglou is going to have to rely on the cups to potentially facilitate a third year in charge.
The depleted Lilywhites were blown away by Liverpool at the weekend and have struggled defensively throughout December in the absence of key starters. They’re 11th in the table with a worrying sense developing that things could get worse for the Lilywhites before their fortunes improve.
Unlike their Premier League rivals, Forest haven’t been hindered too much by injuries this season and it’s a familiar story ahead of Tottenham’s visit.
Nuno Espirito Santo has been without midfielders Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare for much of the campaign, and they won’t be available until the new year. While Sangare is dealing with a hamstring issue, Danilo has been nursing a broken ankle.
There could be a recall for Ryan Yates with Nicolas Dominguez suspended and we could see Nuno revert to a back four having won with a back three at Brentford.
Forest lineup vs Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Tottenham lineup vs Forest (4-3-3): Forster; Spence, Gray, Dragsusin, Udogie; Bentancur, Sarr, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
