Sean Dyche wouldn't have hoped for any better after his side defeated Porto in the Europa League, but the trip to Bournemouth exposed the levels Nottingham Forest still need to climb in the league to reach the standards they set last season.
Forest notched their first victory in 30 years at Old Trafford last term and Anthony Elanga’s scintillating solo goal at The City Ground completed the double over the Red Devils.
Manchester United now seem to be hitting an improved run of form with an uptick in performances and results. They are looking for another three points by capitalising on a more fragile Forest side than they had encountered before.
Forest have been unable to score in their last four league losses, while their last Premier League clean sheet came in the 1-0 victory in April against their upcoming opponents.
Dyche has problems he needs to resolve and a win would only restore confidence amongst his ranks as well as potentially reignite the woes of the visitors.
When Murillo made a last-minute goal line clearance to deny Ruben Amorim’s side the equaliser in the aforementioned victory in April, it epitomised the unwavering defensive resolve which was instrumental to Forest’s eventual league finish.
That defensive solidity seems to have evaporated amidst the turmoil of manager changeovers. Their fragilities from set pieces have hindered their progress and perhaps overshadowed some of the successes Forest had in recent affairs.
Part of the reasoning behind the appointment of Sean Dyche seemed to be due to his ability to secure stability at a club experiencing difficult times, but also in a bid to revert to the style with the hallmarks of Nuno Espirito Santo’s.
A clean sheet on Saturday would not only ease the burden from Matz Sels alongside the rest of the squad, but may catalyse a return to the familiar, impenetrable defence on display last season, rather than continuing to dampen the mood.
Although this forms part of Dyche’s key objective and remit, he has recently insisted that equally, resolving attacking deficiencies is at the forefront of his plans. This is something he has been transmitting to his players in training.
Will a full week of training culminate in a more polished performance?
Coming into a managerial job when the season is already up and running, let alone to implement a stark shift in style seems, an uphill battle from the start.
Dyche has been afforded almost a week of training with his players to instill his mentality and tactical style.
Forest were far from the physical levels expected in the first half against Bournemouth, perhaps experiencing a hangover from the Europa League tie three days prior.
Above all else, the glaring weakness Forest possess at the moment is their lack of goals. They have scored the least goals of any Premier League team this season.
Scoring the first goal was an advantageous trait which kept Forest in control of many games and allowed them to implement their intended plan.
As much as Dyche has reaffirmed the gulf between performances from this season and last season at the club, it seems to be about moving forward into this new era.
If Dyche’s setup makes for something slightly different to Nuno Espirito Santo, yet Forest are able to score goals and put valuable points on the board, supporters will be less inclined to start questioning where their team is heading.
Dyche confirmed that Chris Wood would remain out of the squad for this Saturday’s contest, despite reassuring supporters that Wood's return would hopefully be imminent after the weekend.
Forest’s talisman amassed a commendable 20 Premier League goals last season, while Igor Jesus would always struggle to displace Wood and his prolific reliability.
Although Jesus is still waiting for his first top flight goal, he has already netted five goals across the cup competitions, and there have certainly been glimpses of the threat he can offer in Dyche’s team.
The Brazilian has certainly staked his claim for regular starts in the league, and if he sparks into menacing form, it would only assuage the pressure mounting onto the players around him.
Saturday’s game offers him another chance to make a bold statement of intent regarding his quality.
It will be interesting to see if Dyche drastically alters his lineup, akin to the tendencies of Ange Postecoglou, and whether adapting to Ruben Amorim’s set style will influence his choices, including in attacking areas.