Nottingham Forest face Crystal Palace at the City Ground this afternoon in a Premier League six-pointer
Ryan Yates (centre) celebrates with James McAtee (left) and Igor Jesus as Nottingham Forest take the lead against Ferencvaros(Image: PA)
Club captain Ryan Yates has refused to downplay the significance of Nottingham Forest’s clash with relegation rivals Crystal Palace.
The teams meet at the City Ground this afternoon (2pm kick-off) separated by just three points in the Premier League table. It is the Eagles who currently hold the advantage, but a win for the Reds today would boost their survival hopes while dragging their opponents into the scrap.
Sean Dyche’s side go into the match in good spirits amid a run of seven points from three league fixtures and on the back of Thursday’s 4-0 Europa League thumping of Ferencvaros. Palace, by contrast, are without a victory in 11 games in all competitions.
Adding extra spice to the fixture is the fact last summer saw a fair bit of needle develop between the two clubs. The Eagles were booted out of the Europa League for breaching multi-club ownership rules and were replaced by Forest, with Palace chairman Steve Parish far from happy about the matter.
Forest – JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Get all the Nottingham Forest latest via our Facebook page
“I’ll be honest, I think it’s a massive game,” Yates said. “I usually downplay it, but the form we’re in at home, and everything that’s gone on at the club, we want to put in the best performance we possibly can.
“We want to start well, as we did on Thursday. We want to keep that form going in the Premier League.
“I think you’ve got to jump on the opportunity when clubs aren’t doing so well, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re really looking forward to it.
“To be honest, since the manager’s come in, we don’t want to change anything we do. Even if it’s a friendly, we want to approach it with the same style – especially being at home.
“It’s been an up and down season but we want to get as much momentum and as much confidence through the squad as possible. We want to use that momentum (from Thursday) for this one, which is a massive game for us.”
Get breaking Forest news sent direct to your phone
Join our Nottingham Forest WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click here and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the NottinghamshireLive Reds writers.
We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Reds stories. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click ‘Exit Group’. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you are curious, you can click here to read our Privacy Notice.
One player with no shortage of momentum behind him at present is striker Igor Jesus. The Brazilian bagged a brace in midweek as Forest brought the curtain down on the league phase of their European adventure.
The double took Jesus to six goals in Europe this season. He has found the back of the net only twice in the league, but did so in last weekend’s 2-0 triumph at Brentford and will be aiming to build on that this afternoon.
“I think he fitted in from day one,” Yates said of the front man. “I’ll be honest, a few signings we’ve had over the years, you get that feeling that they’re going to take time (to fit in). But with him, I really did think from the first minutes he had with the club, he’s been really positive for us on the pitch.
“I feel like he’s now reaping the rewards for it. He’s doing amazingly in Europe and I know that for strikers goals are their bread and butter, but I think he brings more to the table and creates a lot for the team.
“We’ve got that togetherness – we have for a few years at the club. He is a team player, more than anything. He’d be happy for us to win and him not scoring; that tells you everything about the lad.”
Is today a six-pointer at the City Ground? Click HERE to have your say