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Having suffered losses in their respective season openers, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United will face off at the City Ground in search of their first Premier League points. Forest is preparing to play their first home game of the campaign following a 1-2 defeat at Arsenal, while Paul Heckingbottom’s men are hitting the road after a 1-0 loss against Crystal Palace in front of their own crowd.
Here are our predicted lineups and team news for the Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United match. The kick-off is scheduled for 7:45 PM BST on Friday, August 18th, at the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup: Can the Tricky Trees take inspiration from their late surge against Arsenal?
Contents
Nottingham Forest seemed destined for a thrashing when they fell 2-0 behind at the Emirates last weekend. Arsenal breached their low block with two individual moments of brilliance, but they lost their momentum as the match progressed.
The visitors set up a nervy finale to the game as two of their substitutes combined to reduce the deficit. Former United man Anthony Elanga ran through the Arsenal midfield and sent an inviting cross into the box. Taiwo Awoniyi dispatched the ball into the net to make it 2-1. Forest threatened to equalise in the dying minutes, but the hosts managed to see out the game without sacrificing their lead.
After a commendable performance against the Gunners, Steve Cooper’s team will hope to emulate their strong 22/23 home form and pick up their first win of the season against Sheffield United.
Back home against the Blades.
🔜 #NFOSHU pic.twitter.com/6I3uMePj3R
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) August 15, 2023
Team News
Omar Richards, Felipe, and Wayne Hennessey will once again sit out the action because of injuries. Taiwo Awoniyi might get the nod to lead the line after finding the back of the net against Arsenal. Anthony Elanga also caught the eye after coming off the bench and might get a start. Moussa Niakhate might step into the backline after returning from injury.
Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Matt Turner, Serge Aurier, Joe Worrall, Moussa Niakhate, Ola Aina, Orel Mangala, Danilo, Brennan Johnson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga, Taiwo Awoniyi
Sheffield United predicted lineup: Can Sheffield cope without new signings?
The need for new recruits at Sheffield United became even more apparent last weekend, as the Premier League returnees suffered a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Bramall Lane. The final scoreline could have been far worse if Wes Foderingham had not produced a stellar display in goal.
The Blades find themselves without the services of their primary forward Iliman Ndiaye, who notched 15 goals and contributed 12 assists last season prior to his move to Marseille, as well as the influential midfielder Sander Berge. Sheffield’s lack of attacking edge against Palace served as a stark reminder of the significant void left by these two players in their forward line.
Paul Heckingbottom needs to swiftly identify a solution for Sheffield’s goalscoring struggles if they intend to return from the City Ground with a positive result.
Team News
Sheffield United have a long list of injury absentees ahead of their trip to Nottingham. Rhian Brewster, John Fleck, Jayden Bogle, Oliver McBurnie, Ismaila Coulibaly, Daniel Jebbison, and Rhys Norrington-Davies will be left behind as they continue their recovery. William Osula and Benie Traore are likely to be favoured once again to spearhead the attack, with Oliver Norwood and Chris Basham pulling the strings from behind.
Sheffield United Predicted Lineup (4-4-2)
Wes Foderingham, Anel Ahmedhodzic, John Egan, Jack Robinson, George Baldock, Chris Basham, Oliver Norwood, Max Lowe, Benie Traore, William Osula, Ben Osborn
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