Newcastle United travel to the City Ground on Sunday to take on high-flying Nottingham Forest in what promises to be an emotional Premier League encounter with a few familiar faces meeting after abrut goodbyes of late.
Forest, under the guidance of Nuno Espirito Santo, have surprised many with their impressive form, sitting third in the league after a 3-0 victory over West Ham. With Chris Wood leading their attack, scoring in each of his last four games, Forest boast the best home defensive record in the league, conceding only three goals.
Who would have told!?
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle, meanwhile, head into this clash following a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Arsenal at St James’ Park followed by a strong outing against Chelsea Reserves in the EFL Cup, with Alexander Isak nodding in the decisive goal from an Anthony Gordon cross to put the Gunners to the sword.
Although Newcastle have struggled on the road recently, taking just one point from their last three away games, they hope to bring their home form to the City Ground and improve upon their 11th-place standing to keep their strong run alive after going to Saudi Arabia for a warm-weather training camp next week.
Newcastle’s injury list includes your typical suspects—Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles, Kieran Trippier, and Callum Wilson—but Jacob Murphy is expected to make a return, likely from the bench, adding depth to Howe’s options as Joelinton and Gordon look to support Isak up front.
Forest, meanwhile, have James Ward-Prowse back in contention, though their midfield trio of Yates, Dominguez, and Gibbs-White is likely to remain unchanged. All of that and the presence of both Wood and Elliot Anderson on the pitch will make for a delightful ocassion!
Here are some of Howe’s Wisdom Nuggets, courtesy of NUFC.co.uk
On his three-year anniversary at the club:
“It feels good to still be here. You’re never sure how things are going to go and you come in with the best intentions, with lots of dreams and emotions.
“Lots of challenges awaited us. The first priority was to stay in the league and we got through a lot of work trying to make changes and also get the most out of what we already had here.
“When you look back on the three years as a whole, you just think to lots of positive memories and good feelings. I am thrilled to still be sat in the position and still dreaming of what may lie ahead.
“We’re happy with the progress but you always want more. You’re not entirely satisfied because we haven’t got the one thing we wanted when we came in which was a trophy. That’s still the dream and it’s still driving us.”
On Lewis Hall receiving his first England call-up at senior level:
“Delighted for Lewis, he has a had a really good start to the season with consistent and really mature displays. I think there is still a lot more to come from him.
“We are seeing him evolve and develop week in week out, adding certain layers to his game all the time. It’s a great achievement for someone so young and we’re all delighted for him.”
On the challenge of Nottingham Forest, who target a fourth successive Premier League win this weekend:
“They are having a great season and Nuno deserves credit for the job he has done. They have a way of playing that really works for them and are very tough to play against.
“You can see how strong their defensive record is and what a test that is going to pose to us to try and score against them, which has given them the platform to score at the other end. They’ve a really solid defensive base with really good pace in wide areas.”
On Tino Livramento:
“I’m very pleased with his recent performances. He’s shown his strengths and I think that’s key to any player. You’ve got to be clear in what you are and how to produce your best performances.
“His dribbling with the ball in wide and central areas has been really good. I still feel there’s more to come from Tino, especially in the attacking third with assists and chance creation.
“I think his defending, when you look at the opponents he’s been up and against in recent games and how well he’s nullified certain players’ strengths has been very good. His career is in a good place and he’s got to continue to improve.”
On team-news:
“I don’t think we are missing anyone new. Jacob Murphy should be okay for Sunday. We are still working on getting the injured players back and they are all making progress.”
On the need for consistency away from home:
“Our away performances have been a slightly mixed bag as consistency hasn’t been absolutely what we want it to be.
“The Fulham game is a standout negative for me, where we didn’t perform at any level, and the other games we’ve seen really good bits within the games and some inconsistent moments.
“To win on the road, you need to have that solidity and energy right from minute one, especially against the teams that are in form.”
Howay!
- Date: Sunday, Nov. 10th
- Kick-off: 2:00 p.m. BST / 9:00 a.m. EST
- Location: City Ground, Nottingham (England)
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