Silva lining up a new relegation cloud for Forest
N FOREST V FULHAM 7.30PM, TNT
MARCO SILVA has warned struggling Nottingham Forest they could be in for another thrashing at the City Ground today.
Two goals each for Alex Iwobi and Raul Jimenez plus Tom Cairney’s late strike gave Fulham a 5-0 win when the sides met at Craven Cottage in Decemeber.
Then Forest manager Steve Cooper said he was “embarrassed” by the result – but Fulham repeated the score against West Ham four days later.
Cooper was sacked a couple of weeks later and replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo, whose team are scrapping for Premier League survival.
But Silva said ominously: “We are stronger right now than in December.
“That was a strong week for us, back-toback 5-0s at home. They were impressive results for us.
“But they are going to be a team fighting hard to get out of the position they are in.
“At the same time, we want to fight for the points because we want to keep climbing the table.”
Forest manager Nuno knows he can knock on Wood in the battle to stay up.
With the task of staying in the top flight made more difficult by a four-point deduction imposed by the Premier League, there are few better to call on than Chris Wood.
The Kiwi extended his
CV of relegation dogfights with Burnley by helping Forest’s scrap to avoid the drop last season while on loan from Newcastle.
Having signed permanently, in the summer,Wood, 32, is once again immersed in a battle against the drop.
After hitting 10 Premier League goals in a season for the fifth time,Wood is the right man to lead the latest fight, says Nuno.
Wood’s brilliantly improvised back header on Saturday earned a point against Crystal Palace, and Nuno said: “As long as he is on the pitch, we trust him to deliver for us. He is a fantastic professional.
“What we have to do is to keep him healthy and help him because he is going to give us a big hand.”
Under Nuno,Wood has scored seven goals in eight games, but the Portuguese refuses to take the plaudits, even though Raul Jimenez blossomed under his management at Wolves.
Nuno said: “I shouldn’t take the credit. It’s all about them. Chris’ quality is different from Raul’s.”
With Taiwo Awoniyi injured any mishap to Wood, below, could be decisive, but Nuno said: “You can’t be afraid that something is going to happen.”
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (probable): Sels; Williams, Felipe, Murillo, Aina; Yates, Reyna; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
FULHAM (probable): Leno; Castagne, Adarabioyo, Bassey, Robinson; Palhinha, Reed; Iwobi, Pereira, Willian; Muniz.