Nottingham Forest take on Tottenham Hotspur in crucial Premier League clash in the capital
Head coach Vitor Pereira has named his Nottingham Forest team to face Tottenham Hotspur in this afternoon's crucial Premier League clash.
With eight games to go, the battle for top flight survival is threatening to go right to the wire. The Reds are just one point below their opponents ahead of kick-off so know they would leapfrog them with a win.
Pereira is yet to register a league victory with Forest. But he has steered the club to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and they will go into today's game in high spirits after clinching their place in the last eight in midweek.
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The Reds saw off Danish outfit FC Midtjylland to continue their continental adventure. Trailing from the first leg, they triumphed 2-1 on Thursday night, then came through 3-0 in the resulting penalty shootout.
Pereira had handed opportunities to several fringe players in Denmark as he picked a team with today's encounter in mind. Having to go through extra-time was not ideal, but the Portuguese was careful to ensure that key men played no more than an hour.
He has made nine changes to his starting XI in the capital. Nikola Milenkovic and Omari Hutchinson are the two players to retain their spots from midweek as Forest revert to arguably their strongest team.
Matz Sels returns in goal, with Stefan Ortega dropping to the bench. The Belgian will be behind a back four of Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo and Neco Williams.
Ibrahim Sangare and Elliot Anderson will make up the midfield. Hutchinson will join Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi in providing attacking support for front man Igor Jesus.
Many of those players who started in Denmark are on the bench in north London. Ortega, Morato, Taiwo Awoniyi, Dan Ndoye, Nicolas Dominguez, Ryan Yates, James McAtee, Luca Netz and Dilane Bakwa make up the list of substitutes.
Forest: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus. Subs: Ortega, Morato, Awoniyi, Ndoye, Dominguez, Yates, McAtee, Netz, Bakwa.