Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira says the Tricky Trees will be without an 'important' player for their relegation six-pointer against Tottenham.
Forest set for vital relegation showdown against Spurs
For Forest, Sunday is not just another Premier League game.
It is the kind of game that can define a season — and possibly a club's future in the top flight. Travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, beat the side directly above you in the table, and suddenly Forest are out of the bottom three on goal difference with eight games to play and real momentum behind them.
Lose, and the gap stretches to four points and the psychological damage could be considerable.
Pereira has made his priorities absolutely clear. When Forest travelled to Denmark to face FC Midtjylland in the Europa League second leg on Thursday — needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit — the Portuguese manager made nine changes to his starting lineup.
Not because he does not care about Europe. He clearly does, and the result — progression to the quarter-finals against FC Porto — showed his squad's depth.
But the message he sent to his players was unmistakable: Sunday is what matters most.
Forest go into the game with every reason to believe they can get a result.
They beat Spurs 3-0 at the City Ground in December, their third consecutive league win over their hosts, and Pereira's side have shown across the course of this season that they are capable of grinding out results when the stakes are highest.
Their 0-0 draw with Fulham last time out was not a performance to shout about, even if they were pretty unlucky, but it kept a clean sheet and kept them in touch.
One point below Spurs, one place below Spurs — this is as close to a cup final as the Premier League gets outside of an actual cup final.
Spurs, for their own part, carry different momentum.
The draw at Anfield and the 3-2 win over Atlético Madrid this week have lifted the mood considerably under Igor Tudor. They have not won a Premier League game since December 28, but the performances have improved and the belief appears to be returning.
Tudor could have Richarlison, Joao Palhinha and Dominic Solanke available again after various absences, while James Maddison could return before the end of the campaign.
However, Pereira has a problem of his own heading into the game.
Jair Cunha set to miss Tottenham clash with Nottingham Forest injury
Indeed, centre-back Jair Cunha will not be available.
The Forest manager confirmed this at his pre-match press conference — and the uncertainty around his return adds another layer of concern for a defence that needs to be at its most organised.
"No, Jair has an injury," Pereira said when asked about the defender's availability.
"I don't know exactly how long he will stay out, but he is recovering and doing treatment. We will see what will happen, because he is important for us."
The final sentence is the one that matters most.
Cunha has indeed become an important figure in Forest's backline for Pereira, and losing him for a game of this magnitude is far from ideal.
Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo are expected to fill the central defensive roles, but their organisational partnership will be tested by a Spurs attack that looked sharp and purposeful against Atlético.