Nottingham Forest face Fulham on Monday night, looking to pull even further away from the relegation zone.
Forest were much better than Tottenham at the City Ground last weekend, with two goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi and a strike from Ibrahim Sangare ensuring a 3-0 win for the Reds.
The Reds don’t have a great record at Fulham and have failed to win at Craven Cottage since the season in which the Reds won promotion to the Premier League.
Playing for Fulham that night was none other than Neco Williams, and ahead of the latest trek to West London, he’s skating on thin ice.
Neco Williams plays for Forest against Real Betis
Photo by Fran Santiago – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Neco Williams and other Nottingham Forest star close to suspension
It’s an ongoing joke in the world of football that you can always tell which players are keen to get Christmas off to spend time with their family by the red and yellow cards they pick up.
Now, ahead of the game before the Christmas fixture, Forest have Williams tantalisingly close to a one-match ban for collecting five yellow cards.
After 19 games, the threshold goes up to 10 for a ban, and Williams, along with central defender Morato, is running close to missing the Manchester City clash.
Williams has been integral to the Forest fortunes over the last 18 months and he’s comfortably been the most improved player over that period.
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With full-backs in short supply, it’s integral that Williams behaves himself against Fulham, and the hope will be that he makes the City game without picking up a ban.
Williams is top Forest performer this season
During a season that has been largely frustrating for Forest, Williams has been one of the standout performers throughout the campaign.
Despite being naturally a right-back, Williams has found a home at left-back over the last 18 months, and just as he does for Wales, he excels in that position.
⭐Neco Williams stats vs Tottenham
How would you score Neco out of 10 against Tottenham?
A bit of everything from the Welshman against Thomas Frank’s team:
Minutes – 90
Interceptions – 3
Tackles – 1
Clearances – 2
Passes – 26
Pass Accuracy – 84.6%
Who Scored Rating – 7.86
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Morato is unlikely to play against Fulham on Monday night and a one-match ban for him does feel unlikely at this stage.
If he was to pick up a ban, Forest do have Jair Cunha and Willy Boly who can provide cover should anything happen to Nikola Milenkovic or Murillo.
Williams is the one, however, and it would be seriously detrimental if Forest had to try and stop the threat of City without their talisman full-back.