Nottingham Forest will host Porto in the Europa League on Thursday, with Sean Dyche managing his first game in charge since joining the club this week.
Dyche has entered the hot seat after Ange Postecoglou was sacked last week, and he’ll be hoping to steer Forest back in the right direction after a difficult start to the season. The experienced manager has been out of work since being sacked by Everton back in January, and there’s no doubt this could be the most talented squad he’s been able to work with in his career.
Given the new ideas from Dyche with a big squad at his disposal, GIVEMESPORT has looked at how Forest could line up in his first game in charge.
Nottingham Forest Team News
Dyche’s only injury concern could be Ola Aina heading into this game, with the Nigerian defender recovering from a hamstring injury. Forest will of course be without Taiwo Awoniyi, Omari Hutchinson, Jair Cunha and Angus Gunn, who were left out of their Europa League squad for this stage of the competition.
Postecoglou implemented a back-five formation in his final game in charge at the weekend, but Dyche has notoriously been a four-at-the-back manager during his career, so we could see a switch of setup.
Sean Dyche Provides Nottingham Forest Team News Update
Speaking to the media for the first time since joining the club, Dyche has provided an update on team news for Nottingham Forest. Chris Wood was confirmed to be “touch and go” for the clash as the striker is carrying a “knock”. With only two days of preparation since his appointment, the English boss explained what had happened on the training round prior to the huge tie:
“They’ve had a lot on. Whatever people think of players, they still feel it. So we’ve just trying to break it a bit, make them realise we’re all human, that we’re in it together and to get a good atmosphere. There was a lot of serious work done, a tactical overview. But we are cramming it because we’ve got two days.”
Nottingham Confirmed Predicted XI
Nottingham Forest Confirmed XI: Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Zinchenko; Luiz, Anderson; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus.
Nottingham Forest Confirmed Substitutes: Victor (GK), Willows (GK), Morato (DEF), Boly (DEF), Abbott (DEF), Savona (DEF), Dominguez (MID), Yates (MID), Sangare (MID), Blake (FWD), McAtee (FWD), Kalimuendo (FWD).
The most likely change could be Chris Wood coming into the starting XI to replace Awoniyi. The latter hasn’t been registered, so he’s unavailable to face Porto, while Wood has worked with Dyche during their time at Burnley.
Dyche has plenty of decisions to make considering the options in his squad, and we could see Dan Ndoye and Ryan Yates coming into the starting XI. A formation change is expected, as Dyche turns to his favoured 4-2-3-1 which he’s used in recent years. Sangare and Luiz, who earn £210,000-a-week combined at The City Ground, could drop to the bench.
Porto Team News
Luuk de Jong celebrates scoring for PSV Eindhoven
Luuk de Jong and Nehuen Perez are both on the treatment table as they continue their recoveries from knee injuries, while Tomas Perez and Yann Karamoh are both ineligible for the away side.
Outside of that, the Portuguese outfit should have a fully fit squad to choose from, with star striker Samu Aghehowa available.
Porto Confirmed XI
Porto Confirmed XI: D. Costa; A .Costa, Bednarek, Kiwior, Moura; Froholdt, Varela, Rosario; Pepe, Samu, Sainz.
Porto Confirmed Substitutes: Ramos (GK), Costa (GK), Zaidu (DEF), Prpic (DEF), Bras (DEF), Fernandes (DEF), Eustaquio (MID), Mora (MID), Veiga (MID), Gomes (FWD), Gul (FWD), Alarcon (FWD)