Nuno must drop Wood and unleash an exciting Nottingham Forest ace.
Tomorrow afternoon, Nottingham Forest will travel to Brighton & Hove Albion in an attempt to continue their perfect start to the Premier League season.
Last weekend, Nuno Espírito Santo’s team defeated Liverpool in a historic fashion, ending Arne Slot’s team’s winning streak from 1969 and ending their unblemished start to the 2024–25 season.
In addition to defeating Southampton, the Reds have drawn their first four league games against Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
But, Nuno’s team will have an additional task on Sunday when they take on Fabian Hurzeler’s team, another undefeated team. With eight points each in the Premier League, the Seagulls and Reds have had an identical start to the season.
The guy who started the win at Anfield last weekend may have to be cruelly benched if Forest is to win its third league game of the new season.
Why Nuno may drop Chris Wood against Brighton
Striker Chris Wood has already started the new season with a bang, scoring two goals in the opening four matches – currently boasting the highest tally in the squad.
Nonetheless, he has only managed to score once, at the City Ground, as the Reds’ away games are played using a more counterattacking style of play.
The 32-year-old is mostly used as a target man rather than a player who can quickly change the play when in control, therefore he isn’t the fastest option at the top of the pitch.
During the match last weekend on Merseyside, Wood played for eighteen minutes, losing all eight duels he entered and only managing four passes.
The New Zealand international’s hold-up play requires him to be strong in the air and collaborate with his teammates to create plenty of opportunities during transitions.
His lacklustre performance against Slot’s team may have resulted in his replacement by a player who made an outstanding cameo in the last minutes of the victory.
The man who could replace Wood against Brighton
Forward Jota Silva is yet to start a league game after his £7m move from Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes during the recent transfer window.
The 25-year-old did, however, began his Reds career by scoring the game-winning goal in last month’s Carabao Cup loss to Newcastle United.
After being brought on to replace Wood last Saturday, Silva—who had previously been referred to as a “machine” by Portuguese pundit Tomas de Cunha—completed just two fewer passes and won more aerial duels despite playing 72 minutes less than the former Newcastle star.
Along with Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi, he possesses the speed on the counterattack to pose a threat to the opponent and may form a lethal combination for Nuno’s team at the top of the pitch.
He’s proven to be an aerial threat despite having a much smaller body than Wood, so if the Reds need to relieve pressure on the backline, he might provide them an alternative in the air.
Nuno needs to make some risky decisions in order to give his team the best chance of extending their winning streak, as Forest has another chance to build on their stellar start to the season in today’s match.
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