Nottingham Forest’s Champions League fate may no longer be in their own hands but head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has already vowed the Reds will fight until the very end.
Forest are seventh, one point below Chelsea and Aston Villa with two matches left to play. Realistically, they need to win their remaining fixtures and hope other results go their way as the battle to finish in the Premier League’s top five heads towards a gripping finale.
If they are to have any chance of setting up a potential final-day decider with the Blues at the City Ground, the Reds need to start by picking up three points this weekend. They make the trip to the capital to face West Ham United on Sunday (2.15pm kick-off).
"I totally believe in these two games anything can happen,” Nuno said after last Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Leicester City. “There's competition, finals involved also. Many things.
"Let's see how it goes. We have to focus on West Ham. They achieved a good result (beating Manchester United) so it is going to be tough. But I promise you we are going to give it a go and we will never give up.”
Forest have picked up just one win in their last six league games. They were left kicking themselves not to have claimed victory over the relegated Foxes.
However, the main concern in the aftermath of that match was over a serious abdominal injury to striker Taiwo Awoniyi. The Nigerian has had to have two operations after colliding with a post in the final minutes of the match, although he is now said to be recovering well.
Awoniyi’s injury has certainly put things into perspective. Hopefully, by the time the Reds take to the pitch on Sunday they will do so knowing their teammate is making good progress.
It remains to be seen whether Murillo and Callum Hudson-Odoi are available to face the Hammers. Both missed out last weekend due to hamstring problems, although the former had done some training in the build-up and Nuno previously said he hoped Hudson-Odoi would return for the final two fixtures.
If Murillo is fit, he would be a straight swap for Morato at the back. The former Benfica man endured something of a tough afternoon when stepping in for his fellow Brazilian against Leicester.
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If Hudson-Odoi gets the green light, it would then leave Nuno with a dilemma in midfield. Nicolas Dominguez has played out wide in the winger’s absence so could switch back to his more familiar position if the ex-Chelsea man is back.
Dominguez and Elliot Anderson have worked well together in the centre of the pitch this season. However, Ibrahim Sangare has arguably done enough in the last two games to retain his spot in the starting XI alongside Anderson.
If Hudson-Odoi is ruled out, it seems likely Nuno will stick with the set-up he has gone with previously. He has orthodox wingers Jota Silva and Ramon Sosa available but has been reluctant to start with either of them at such a crucial stage of the campaign.
Forest predicted XI to face West Ham: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
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