Prior to Nottingham Forest’s trip to Chelsea, Nuno Espírito Santo has stated that Morgan Gibbs-White’s return will be crucial.
In their previous encounter, Forest’s remarkable run of victories was ended by a 1-0 loss at home against Fulham, where Raúl Jiménez scored the game’s lone goal from the penalty spot.
Vice captain Gibbs-White did not play in the match because he was suspended for a second yellow card received away at Brighton. Prior to the match, head coach Espírito Santo made the following statement to the media:
“We really value having Gibson White back; he’s a very special player.”
“It’s great to have him back because the team depends on him to provide certain things.”
Nuno continued, saying that the group must forget about its performance against Fulham.
“We didn’t perform well and it wasn’t a good game, so we looked closely at things that didn’t work out,” he stated.
“After that it’s about putting a stone in that game and moving forward-Sunday is a big one so we need to be ready for it.”
On Sunday, October 12, at 2 p.m., Forest will go to Stamford Bridge, and Nuno acknowledges that the team must follow its impressive road results from this season with better home results.
It’s a problem that we have to speak at the appropriate times,” Nuno remarked.
“I believe that we must be authentic, whether we are at home or not, and by that I mean that we must compete—not run away from what may occur.”
The league’s leading scorers, Chelsea, are ranked fourth in the standings. In their most recent matchup with Brighton, playmaker Cole Palmer scored four goals for the Blues.
“It’s always important, no matter which opponent you have to realize which strengths they have and how to tr
y and control them,” Nuno stated in reference to dealing with a squad that scores a lot of goals.
“The team has shown that they are compact and strong in that area; teamwork is going to be crucial against Chelsea because they are a talented football team and will demand a lot of work from us.”
He went on to say Forest needs to take advantage of the opportunities they are providing. He said:
“That’s the big issue in football, finding the balance between the work in both boxes. “We should be more clinical in that regard because we are creating a lot of situations, and we think we will get better.”
“We cannot ignore him, but it’s not the game plan based on one person—Chelsea are much more than individual players,” he continued, speaking about how to handle a player like Cole Palmer.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis was charged by the FA for “improper behavior” after Forest’s loss to Fulham. Nuno responded that while he was aware of the complaint, he was unaware of the circumstances leading up to it. Prior to the Chelsea match, he also stated that there are no fresh injuries to report; Danilo and Ibrahim Sangaré are the only Reds players still sidelined by injuries.
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