Nottingham Forest are in the semi-final of the FA Cup after coming through on penalties against Brighton at the weekend.
The Reds have earned a Wembley date against Manchester City later this month, and there is real hope that Nuno Espirito Santo can deliver silverware.
Forest won a penalty shootout at the AMEX Stadium with Ryan Yates and Matz Sels proving the heroes of the piece.
The game finished 0-0 after 120 minutes of action with the game proving to be a drab affair with neither side wanting to give too much away.
Wayne Rooney was made to look silly by Espirito Santo, with the Forest head coach choosing to ring some changes for the game against the Seagulls.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Stuart Pearce shares what surprised him about Nuno Espirito Santo vs Brighton
Pearce is recovering well from his recent health scare, and he’s been back on the radio to discuss the weekend’s FA Cup games.
He admitted that one Espirito Santo decision left him surprised at the weekend – but admitted he was pleased that he was made to eat his words.
He said on TalkSPORT: “When he left Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga out, it raised my eyebrows before the game, I will tell you that. I think he had one eye on Tuesday’s game.
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“He’s keeping faith in a few, he’s mixing and matching a bit. The two flying machines they’ve got, you’d think they were set perfectly to play at Brighton, but he knows the squad better than us.”
Forest duo will return vs Manchester United
It’s a scary proposition for United that Elanga and Hudson-Odoi didn’t play the full 120 minutes against Brighton at the weekend.
In tandem, Elanga and Hudson-Odoi have been devastating on the counter this season, and the Reds could really hurt United on Tuesday night.
Clearly, it caused a stir that Espirito Santo didn’t go full strength against Brighton, but with Chris Wood injured, the Reds can’t risk anymore big fitness problems.
It’s clear that the Forest boss knows exactly what he’s doing and he will now be totally prepared to unleash Elanga and Hudson-Odoi on United tomorrow night.