Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup vs AFC Bournemouth for February 4

Taiwo Awoniyi’s late goal wasn’t enough for Nottingham Forest to salvage a point, as they lost 2-1 to Arsenal on Tuesday, January 30. Forest have now lost back-to-back games in the Premier League and sit only two points above the relegation zone. Nuno Espirito Santo’s team will be looking to rectify a poor recent record against AFC Bournemouth, who they haven’t beaten in seven matches, including a 3-2 loss on December 23, 2023, thanks to a 94^th minute winner by Dominic Solanke. Here is the Nottingham Forest predicted lineup for this upcoming match.

Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup vs AFC Bournemouth in Premier League

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How Nottingham Forest Have Lined-up Recently

Matt Turner made another glaring error in the defeat to Arsenal, letting Gabriel Jesus’ shot go through his legs at the near post. He has started the last three matches, however, patience is wearing thin with the American shot stopper as Forest have not kept a clean sheet in the Premier League since the 2-0 victory against Aston Villa on November 5, 2023. Matz Sels’ arrival on deadline day will likely see Turner drop to the bench in the coming weeks.

Gonzalo Montiel has been a mainstay at right-back recently, however he also made a significant error, which allowed Arsenal to double their lead. Neco Williams played on the left-hand side of a compact 4-5-1 shape, so the Welsh full-back is not completely out of favour with the new manager.

Harry Toffolo came in to replace Nuno Tavares in midweek as the Portuguese full-back was ineligible. Nuno has favoured Tavares on the left-hand-side since his arrival and may give him another start ahead of Toffolo.

Murillo and Andrew Omobamidele have impressed in recent games. These two have started the last four games together and have been a bright spark for the Reds.

Orel Mangala has started the last four matches, however he made a deadline day loan move to Lyon until the end of the season. Danilo started next to Mangala against Arsenal, with Nico Dominguez deployed on the right-hand side, which means that the Argentinian midfielder could move back into a central defensive midfield role for the clash with Bournemouth.

Morgan Gibbs-White returned to the starting line-up against Arsenal after an abdominal injury, which ruled him out of action for a couple of weeks. As already mentioned, Williams played as a left winger against Mikel Arteta’s men, which left out Callum Hudson-Odoi, who had made three consecutive starts previously.

Chris Wood started against Arsenal, however Awoniyi came on at half-time and scored a late goal to halve the deficit. The Nigerian striker has now scored ten goals in his last 15 Premier League appearances and has been a “really dangerous player” for the Tricky Trees since his arrival in June 2022. He looks set to make a return to the starting lineup against Bournemouth.

Nottingham Forest Recent Form and Tactics

Forest have struggled defensively under Nuno, conceding 14 goals in only eight games. In line with these defensive struggles, though, has been an improvement in attacking numbers, with the Reds scoring 15 since Nuno’s arrival.

The game against Arsenal saw a slight change in shape, as Forest looked to set up in a rigid 4-5-1 formation to stop Arsenal from breaking the lines and creating meaningful attacks. Before that, Nuno has consistently played 4-2-3-1, and it is likely that he will return to this shape against Bournemouth.

Giovanni Reyna’s arrival on Wednesday, January 31, will give Nuno a selection headache for the upcoming match as the American looks for much-needed game time. Anthony Elanga came off the bench against Arsenal to play the last 12 minutes, and he will be in contention to start, given that he has four goals and six assists in the Premier League this season. Nuno may be tempted to play both Reyna and Elanga on either side of Gibbs-White.

If Awoniyi plays, then Forest will look to use the pace of Elanga and the guile of Gibbs-White to link up with the in-form striker and hurt Andoni Iraola’s team on fast counter attacks.

Tactically, Forest’s major concern in this game will be to stop Solanke, who scored a hat-trick in the previous clash between the sides in December. In fact, Solanke has scored four goals and registered two assists in his last five appearances against the East Midlands club, so the centre-back pairing that Forest choose will have their work cut out.

Nottingham Forest Injuries to Consider vs AFC Bournemouth

During Nuno’s press conference on Friday, February 2, he declared that Forest have “injury problems” ahead of the away trip to Bournemouth. He said: “It was a very hard period of games, based on always using the same players with issues come along but we still have to wait and see.”

Chris Wood is a doubt with a hamstring issue, however the Reds will be able to call upon the services of Senegal’s Moussa Niakhate after his Round of 16 exit from the Africa Cup of Nations. Niakhate’s fellow countryman, Cheikhou Kouyate, will be given more time out on compassionate grounds following the recent death of his father.

Nuno said: “Cheikhou had permission to stay one more day, because of the unfortunate passing of his father. We allowed him to settle down and stay with his family.”

Nuno’s side are still without Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangaré, who play Mali in the quarter-finals on Saturday, January 3. Meanwhile, Ola Aina’s Nigeria progressed to the semi-finals after a 1-0 victory against Angola, meaning he will be unavailable for selection.

Sels is facing a race against time to be available for the match. Forest are currently waiting on the Belgium goalkeeper’s work permit to be approved.

Nuno said: “We are waiting for the work permit for him to be an option [to play on Sunday], then we will decide. He has experience. He was playing at his club, so he can help us also and give us another option for the goalkeepers.

“We still have to decide which is the moment (to play him). We are still waiting on the permit for him to be available. But all the players that have come, the idea is for them to help us and give us more solutions so we can be stronger.”

The arrival of the 18-year-old Portuguese striker, Rodrigo Ribeiro, on Thursday, February 1, means Nuno will have another attacking option available to him.