Nottingham Forest face Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day as Nuno Espirito Santo aims to overcome his struggling former employers.
Nuno's spell at Tottenham was short-lived and extremely forgettable, but the former Portuguese goalkeeper has worked wonders at the City Ground. After keeping Forest aloft last season, the East Midlanders entered Christmas fourth in the Premier League table and boast genuine aspirations to claim European football.
The work done by Nuno is comparable to his work at Molineux. After Wolves' return to the top flight in 2018, a stellar season saw them qualify for the Europa League and they enjoyed plenty of continental travel before being cut short by eventual winners Sevilla in the quarter-finals.
Spurs harbor hopes of winning that competition this season, 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 blown away Liverpool at the weekend and have struggled defensively throughout December in the absence of key players. They are 11th in the table with a worrying sense going into this things could get worse for the lily pads before their fortunes improve.
Here it is 90 minutes guide for this Premier League The 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 0-5 Tottenham – 15/12/24 |
|
Man City 3-0 Nottingham Forest – 04/12/24 |
Rangers 1-1 Tottenham – 12/12/24 |
|
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Ipswich – 30/11/24 |
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea – 08/12/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Amazon Prime Video |
|
United States |
peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 4 Canada |
Unlike their Premier League rivals, Forest have not been hampered by injuries too much this season and are a familiar story ahead of Tottenham's visit.
Nuno Espirito Santo has been without midfielders Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare for most of the campaign, and they will not be available until the new year. While Sangare is dealing with a hamstring problem, Danilo has suffered a broken ankle.
There could be a recall for Ryan Yates with Nicolas Dominguez suspended and we could see Nuno return to the back four after winning with a back three at Brentford.
Forest predicted formation against Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Postecoglou remains short-handed in defence, but Destiny Udogie was among the substitutes against Liverpool and could be in contention on Boxing Day after he picked up an injury during the 5-0 rout of Southampton.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are out until the new year, but Ben Davies is believed to be close to a return from a thigh injury. Richarlision could also return during the first week of 2025, while Mikey Moore is back on the training pitch after a long spell of illness.
Wilson Odobert and Guglielmo Vicario are ready for the returns in February.
Brennan Johnson is likely to return to the starting line-up with Postecoglou likely to bring Rodrigo Bentancur back into the squad after serving a seven-match ban.
Tottenham predicted the formation against Forest (4-3-3): Forster; Spence, Gray, Dragsusin, Udogie; Bentancur, Sarr, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
Things are looking up 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 recently, including Djed Spence and Archie Gray, but they have failed as a collective and fared poorly away from home. We can't read too much into their 5-0 triumph over lowly Southampton at St Mary's.
This team is running on fumes and they are up against a vibrant 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 line-up.
Given the strength of Forest's back line and their ability on the counter, it looks as though Spurs will be capitulating on Boxing Day.