After three heated battles last season, Wolves and Nottingham Forest will renew their rivalries this weekend as the two sides go head-to-head at Molineux in their latest Premier League meeting.
#1 Inside both camps
Gary O’Neil admitted some his Wolves players were looking tired following their 1-0 victory over Burnley on Tuesday night, having faced back-to-back games in London all in the space of eight days. But with an extra day of rest compared to Saturday afternoon’s opponents coming into their clash with Forest, the head coach will hope his squad will be fully recovered and ready to give their all once again when 3pm comes around. Hugo Bueno was taken off late on against the Clarets, and with O'Neil confirming Rayan Ait-Nouri is 'unlikely to be available' for Forest, the left wing-back spot could be up for grabs this weekend. It is also still to be seen who will play in goal on Saturday after Dan Bentley deputised expertly for Jose Sa against both Arsenal and Burnley, but with the Portuguese back to fitness, O’Neil could revert to his regular choice between the sticks.
Off the back of Wednesday’s heavy defeat to Fulham, Forest boss Steve Cooper may decide to ring the changes. Defensive duo Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna have been reportedly training away from their teammates recently, but when asked about the former, Cooper said he could still work his way back into his plans. Two players who definitely won’t be back on Saturday are Serge Aurier and Taiwo Awoniyi, who are currently out with calf and groin injuries respectively, while former Wolves favourite Willy Boly was taken off at half-time of the loss to Everton last weekend and missed the drubbing against the Cottages in mid-week. Cooper will be eager to see the man who has been hailed as one of Forest’s best performers so far this season back on the pitch, but this weekend looks like it could be too soon for the Ivorian to make his return at Molineux.
✔️ Burnley
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 7, 2023
✔️ Spurs
🟰 Newcastle
🟰 Villa
✔️ Man City
We’re unbeaten in our last five at Molineux 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/d1LBOwHg6N
#2 Coming into it
Wolves’ home form is currently in stark contrast to the results they are picking up on the road, with three wins and two draws from their last five at Molineux compared to three defeats in a row away from the Black Country. This means O’Neil’s side should be buoyed to be back in front of their own support once again and will be looking to produce the goods again having shown a different side to their game in grinding out a win against Burnley on Tuesday night.
Wolves’ last three | W 1-0 Burnley (H) – L 1-2 Arsenal (A) – L 2-3 Fulham (A)
Having started the season positively with two wins and a draw from their opening five, Forest have since taken just one win from their subsequent 10 outings, which came at home against Aston Villa at the start of November. Losses to West Ham, Brighton and Everton have followed before their heaviest defeat of the season on Wednesday night, as former Wolves hero Raul Jimenez scored twice in the same Premier League game for the first time since January 2020 in a 5-0 drubbing away at Fulham.
Forest’s last three | L 0-5 Fulham (A) – L 1-0 Everton (H) – L 2-3 Brighton (H)
#3 Since last time
Forest 1 Wolves 1 | 1st April 2023
A lot has changed for both teams since the two teams last met, which was a feisty affair at the City Ground earlier this April. On that day, the Old Gold pick up an invaluable point in their battle against relegation, with Daniel Podence being the Wolves hero that day as he showed brilliant composure to cut inside and fire into the top corner to rule out Brennan Johnson’s first-half strike. Podence’s sixth goal of the campaign ensured the game finished honours even in Nottingham.
Wolves’ XI | Sa, Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Toti, Neves, Lemina, Moutinho, Nunes, Traore, Cunha.
Only three members of the Forest side which featured against Wolves last time out were in from the start against Fulham earlier in midweek. Harry Toffolo, Felipe and Orel Mangala were the trio who started both games, while Morgan Gibbs-White, Moussa Niakhate and Danilo were brought off the bench during the 5-0 loss. Some of those who have since moved on from the East Midlands include goalkeeper Keylor Navas and forward Brennan Johnson, while Remo Freuler and Emmanuel Dennis have gone on loan spells to Bologna and Istanbul Basaksehir respectively.
Forest’s XI | Navas, Williams, Felipe, Niakhate, Toffolo, Mangala, Freuler, Danilo, Johnson, Gibbs-White, Dennis.
#4 In the media
BBC Radio WM commentator Mike Taylor has discussed the goalkeeper conundrum in his latest column on the BBC Sport website ahead of this weekend’s fixture against Forest, with Taylor outlining the difficult decision O’Neil has to make following Bentley’s impressive displays this week standing in for the inured Sa.
“Shortly after arriving last January, it was striking to hear Dan Bentley referred to as one of the senior figures in the dressing room, without him having played a single minute of first-team football for Wolves, or indeed in the Premier League. Wolves knew what they were getting, however. Gary O’Neil said Sa could have played at a pinch, and even battled through the pain at Arsenal. But there was no need, as there was a good man standing by, and Bentley did his bit against Burnley with one notable double save in the first half. Who knows whether he will have more chances soon, but Bentley has confirmed to O’Neil that when he is needed again, he will be ready.”
It's been rumoured that Cooper’s time as Forest boss could be coming to an end if his side were to taste defeat at Molineux this weekend, but former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan told talkSPORT that believes the ex-Swansea City manager deserves more time to try to turn the Reds’ form around.
“I personally think that it would be early for the owner to pull the trigger, irrespective of if they don’t win against Wolves on Saturday. They’ve got a run of fixtures coming up that no new manager will be wanting to take control of anyway because they’ve got some of the top sides in the division to play against, which is not going to be a fair barometer or indication of where Nottingham Forest are. I think they’ve got one of the brightest coaches in the division. Unless you’re clear that this guy is not being held up by anything other than his decency and if you’re going to tell me that the players clearly aren’t responding to the manager and they don’t want to play for this manager anymore, I’m inclined to say that it needs a little bit more time to see if this can be turned.”
