Nottingham Forest team news: Cooper must unleash £22k-p/w “animal”
The Forest boss could make a game-changing addition to his line-up following a Premier League defeat to Man United last weekend.
Steve Cooper could make life tough for Chelsea by unleashing one of Nottingham Forest’s new signings.
The player has been described as an ‘animal’ and won 100% of his aerial battles against Burnley.
He outshone Serge Aurier in plenty of areas last season.
Nottingham Forest haven’t had the best week on the pitch with a hard-to-take defeat to Manchester United last weekend, followed up by a 1-0 defeat to Burnley knocking them out of the Carabao Cup prematurely on Wednesday evening.
As a result, Steve Cooper will be looking for a comeback when he leads his team out at Stamford Bridge this afternoon and will be hoping that his team show their resilience and work ethic to deliver the travelling support something to celebrate.
The Tricky Trees are currently 14th in the Premier League table after tallying up two defeats and a victory so far, whilst Chelsea sit in 10th place just one point ahead of their visitors, which proves how tight the standings are at these early stages and how important it is to get a good run of form going as soon as possible.
What’s the latest Nottingham Forest team news?
With regards to injuries, Cooper has revealed there are many doubts in the squad beyond those who have been ruled out indefinitely.
The Forest boss has confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Danilo will undergo a scan on his hamstring following his absence from the matchday squad against Burnley in mid-week, whilst also revealing disappointing updates on both Scott McKenna and Orel Mangala:
“Orel is out injured at the moment.
“Danilo, unfortunately, has picked up an injury as well. Scott has picked up an injury, as we saw against United last Saturday.”
Cooper also confirmed potential returns for Felipe and Wayne Hennessey:
“Felipe is back training and was on the bench on Wednesday night. It’s a boost that he’s been back with us, because we all know how influential he was for us last season.
“Wayne is back in training. He’s close to being fully fit.”
Will Gonzalo Montiel start vs Chelsea?
The Garibaldi Reds completed the exciting signing of Argentine World Cup Winner Gonzalo Montiel during the summer transfer window on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy, and Forest fans were given their first glimpse of their new player on Wednesday evening against Burnley.
Over his 71-minute performance, the 26-year-old – dubbed an “animal” by his former coach Julen Lopetegui – won 100% of his aerial duels, 50% of his ground duels, completed two clearances and two tackles, as per SofaScore, in a complete defensive showing.
Now Cooper must unleash the £22k-per-week right-back in his starting XI in West London this weekend to allow him to build better connections with his teammates on the pitch, and if he can find his feet quickly in the opening minutes of the clash he could bully Chelsea on the right flank.
When comparing Montiel’s La Liga output with Aurier’s for Forest last season, the Sevilla defender comfortably outperformed his position competitor at the City Ground in many attacking attributes including goal contributions (3 v 1), pass completion (77.7% v 70.7%), shot-creating actions per 90 (2.42 v 1.20), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.30 v 0.05), demonstrating that he could bring a more progressive presence to the Forest back-line.
Not only is the Argentine a tough customer from a defensive point of view but those attacking metrics suggests Chelsea may well be in for a tricky afternoon.
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer to unleash Montiel in the starting line-up against the Blues as his creativity and more progressive style of play from his deeper role could be a breath of fresh air for the travelling Trentsiders.
