Nottingham Forest face Tottenham Hotspur on Christmas Day as Nuno Espirito Santo looks to overcome his struggling former employers.
Nuno’s season at Tottenham was short and remarkably forgettable, but the former Portuguese goalkeeper has done wonders at the City Ground. After holding off Forest last season, the East Midlanders went into Christmas fourth in the Premier League table and have genuine aspirations of claiming European football.
The work done by Nuno is comparable to his work at Molineux. After Wolves returned to the top flight in 2018, a stellar season saw them qualify for the Europa League and they enjoyed a good continental trip before their eventual winners, Sevilla, interrupted them in the quarter finals
Spurs have hopes of winning this competition this term, with their domestic indifference meaning Ange Postecoglou will have to rely on trophies to potentially facilitate a third year in charge.
The depleted Lilywhites were stunned Liverpool at the weekend and have struggled defensively throughout December without key starters. They are 11th in the table with a worrying sense developing things could get worse for the Lilywhites before his fortunes improved.
here it is 90 minutes guide for this Premier League Boxing Day Clash.
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham H2H Record (Last Five Matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Nottingham Forest |
Tottenham |
|---|---|
|
Brentford 0-2 Nottingham Forest – 21/12/24 |
Liverpool 3-6 Tottenham – 22/12/24 |
|
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Aston Villa – 14/12/24 |
Tottenham 4-3 Man Utd – 19/12/24 |
|
Man Utd 2-3 Nottingham Forest – 07/12/24 |
Southampton – Tottenham 0-5 – 15/12/24 |
|
Man City 3-0 Nottingham Forest – 04/12/24 |
Rangers 1-1 Tottenham – 12/24/12 |
|
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Ipswich – 30/11/24 |
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea – 08/12/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
Amazon Prime Video |
|
united states |
royal peacock |
|
canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 4 Canada |
Unlike their Premier League rivals, Forest have not been too hampered by injuries this season and are 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 will not be available until the new year. While Sangare is dealing with a hamstring problem, Danilo has been nursing a broken ankle.
There could be a Ryan Yates recall with Nicolas DomÃnguez suspended and we could see Nuno return to a fourth after scoring a hat-trick at Brentford.
Predicted line-up Forest v Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Salts; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; wood
Postecoglou remains scarce in defence, but Destiny Udogie was one of the substitutes against Liverpool and could be in contention on Christmas Day after he was injured during Southampton’s 5-0 rout.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are out until the new year, but Ben Davies is believed to be closing in on a return from a hamstring injury. Richarlision can also return in the first week of 2025, while Mikey Moore has returned to training camp after a long spell out with illness.
Wilson Odobert and Guglielmo Vicario are ready for the return in February.
Brennan Johnson is likely to be recalled to the starting eleven with Postecoglou potentially bringing Rodrigo Bentancur back into the side after serving a seven-match ban.
Tottenham predicted line-up against Forest (4-3-3): Forster; Spence, Gray, Dragsusin, Udogie; Bentancur, Sarr, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
Things will improve for Tottenham, but Postecoglou may have to wait until the new year to oversee a revival. There have been impressive individual performers for the Lilywhites of late, including Djed Spence and Archie Gray, but they have failed as a collective and underperformed away from home. We can’t read too much into their 5-0 triumph over lowly Southampton at St Mary’s.
This team runs on fumes and faces a Nottingham Forest team that thrives when given space in transition. Spurs will need to play a near-perfect game to control their hosts, something they would struggle to do with an optimal XI.
Given the strength of Forest’s backline and their ability on the counter, it looks like Spurs will succumb on Christmas Day.
