Tottenham will look to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to Liverpool when they travel to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup. This is one of seven all-EPL fixtures to feature in the third-round draw.
As we mentioned in the opening paragraph, Spurs come into this on the back of a loss to Liverpool. You can say they were very unlucky to not get anything from the weekend’s headliner fixture at their home ground. The fact that their fans booed them off at halftime is, frankly, laughable.
Nottingham Forest has had a topsy-turvy season so far. There have certainly been more ups and downs than a roller coaster for Steve Cooper’s side. They followed their slaying of Liverpool a couple of weeks ago with a pathetic display against a rampaging Arsenal to lose 5-0. Heading into this match, they needed a 96th-minute own goal to save their season at Brentford and secure a 2-2 draw.
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham EFL Cup FYIs
Competition: EFL Cup, 3rd Round
Kickoff: Wed Nov 9, 7.45 pm, City Ground
After Extra Time Pod: Apple Spotify
Starting XI Prediction: Go here
TV: UK-Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football
Team News
The returns of Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Moura and Dejan Kulusevski have boosted Spurs in recent weeks. Kulusevski, in particular, has been dearly missed and his impact was immediately felt upon his return to the side. From the bench against Liverpool, it took him less than two minutes to get Spurs back into the game by setting up Harry Kane for a goal.
It is not all roses on the injury front for Spurs, however. Here is the latest on the three other injured stars in Antonio Conte’s squad.
Richarlison [Calf]
“Richy has his injury. It’s not a serious injury, but he needs a bit of time to recover. He was really worried after the game against Everton.” [Oct 17]
Cristian Romero [Calf]
“The only news is that Cuti is not available for the match tomorrow. We are sorry, but it is what it is.” [Oct 31]
Son Heung Min [Face]
“We can confirm that Heung-Min Son will undergo surgery to stabilize a fracture around his left eye.” [Nov 2]
Stuey’s Two Cents
Depending on the side selected by Antonio Conte, there should only be one winner here. Cup football is made for upsets, though. If Forest can go on a run in a cup competition, it could numb the pain of what is likely to be a painful Premier League campaign.
Stuart Kavanagh is a journalist currently residing in Broken Hill, Australia. He writes for the Barrier Truth newspaper, along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, He co-hosts the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast and contributes at edgeofthecrowd.com when time permits. He is also the Media & Communications Director at the Newosis Mental Health Foundation. You can find more about the work Newosis Mental Health Foundation does here.
Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.