It was only a few years ago that the Forest faithful were looking at the prospect of coming to St James Park as a fellow League One team. Now, fresh off a weeklong training camp in Dubai, the Reds head down to Devon – sitting 3rd in the Premier League!
What can Exeter fans expect?
Show an alien ‘counter attacking football’ and you show them Nuno Espírito Santo’s Nottingham Forest. Forest’s success has been predicated upon being a well-drilled, disciplined, defensive team – who thrive in transition with speed and attacking quality. Therefore, you shouldn’t be all that surprised if Exeter, the team 59 places below in the Football League, see much more of the ball than you might’ve assumed.
In terms of team selection, Nuno will rotate his core group of players, viewing the fixture as a “reward for the [fringe] players that are working so hard, to have a chance to play”.
Therefore, you can expect to see Taiwo Awoniyi lead the line in place of Chris Wood, as he continues his efforts to rediscover his form. Ramon Sósa and Jota Silva should be the players in support of the Nigerian, completing an attack that has lots of work rate but potentially lacking a creative spark.
6’8 Brazilian, Carlos Miguel will be in net to continue his ‘cup keeper’ duties in place of the current leader of The Premier League Golden Glove award, Matz Sels.
It’s hard to predict which formation Forest will line up in, as Nuno frequently rotates between four and five at the back. If a five-man defence, it’s probable that Harry Toffolo will resume his role as makeshift third centre back – as he did against Luton in the third round.
Regardless of formation, it should be a start for Aston Villa loanee, Alex Moreno, who enjoyed a great start to life at Trentside but has since been displaced by Neco Williams at Left Back. At the heart of the back line, veteran Willy Boly and Nuno’s ‘minute 60 enforcer’ Morato will either play as a two or alongside Toffolo. Rapid 18-year-old, Eric da Silva Moreira will likely complete the defence at Right Back or Wing Back. Such rotation will probably see key members of the defensive unit – Ola Aina, Nikola Milenković and Murillo stay home.
The one area of uncertainty, around who Nuno will go with, is in midfield. Ryan Yates will almost certainly captain the team, but alongside him (shape dependent) could be one or more of either: Nicolás Domínguez, Ibrahim Sangaré, Danilo. With stars, Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson likely to be left on the bench should Nuno need to turn to them. I also anticipate that at least one of Wood and Anthony Elanga will be on hand as further attacking options from the bench.
Forest’s player to watch:
Ibrahim Sangaré
The Ivorian is the club’s record signing, arriving from PSV Eindhoven for €35 million back in 2023. Given his pedigree in Europe, it was expected that Sangaré would be the player to anchor Forest away from relegation battles and towards becoming an established force in the topflight. However, in the space of just months the club has catapulted themselves all the way to the top of the division, largely in Sangaré’s absence.
Predominantly due to injury, it has been incredibly stop-start for Sangaré at Forest. He has struggled to find his feet at the club. Even when he has played, he has had difficulties with adapting to the intensity of the Premier League; often looking just that one step behind. With that being said, in his first full pre-season last summer, the 27-year old appeared to be a lot more like the commanding player we had all hoped that he’d be – but after only the third game of the season against Wolves – a hamstring injury killed any sort of momentum.
It was during our last outing against Brighton that Sangaré finally returned from what became a six-month injury. In the absence of both him and Danilo, Elliot Anderson has made himself undroppable. So, now Sangaré must battle for the only contentious position in the starting XI, alongside Anderson.
He’s a player that divides fan opinion, but we certainly haven’t seen the best of him in Garibaldi Red and this Exeter clash promises much needed minutes for him to get back up to speed.
Cup Silverware a realistic aim?
Since 1990, neither of the domestic cups have been kind to Forest. Even before that, the FA Cup was the one trophy that evaded Brian Clough during his historic successes at the club. Yet, I would say that there is definitely a subtle feeling amongst the fans that winning the club’s third FA Cup and first since 1959 could be more than achievable this season.
On paper, Forest are the highest ranked team left in the competition, but ultimately due to our remarkable league form, the club’s aim has to be to secure Champions League football for next season.
Currently, the FA Cup is predominantly at the back of most people’s minds but it provides Nuno with a good opportunity to build momentum across the entire squad.
However, a victory tonight would bring Ipswich to the City Ground for the fifth round, in another winnable game. I’m sure the deeper we go, the more the allure of Wembley will begin to dawn!
Score prediction:
4-1 Forest
With a bouncing and compact St James Park, I expect a lively start from the home team, so Forest will have to be quick to deflate any buzz. Whether we make quick work, or in fact we’re made to work… Forest will have too much quality for there to be any potential ‘giant killing’.
