Fulham head coach Marco Silva is happy in regards to the competitors growing between forwards Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz.
Muniz got here into the facet and scored a match-winning brace of their 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic within the FA Cup fourth spherical, having beforehand come off the bench to attain the winner in opposition to Newcastle final trip within the league.
Whereas Muniz’s FA Cup look was his first begin because the earlier spherical, Silva is eager to counsel that the battle for a spot within the XI is wholesome for the group.
“It’s nice competitors between him and Raul, positively,” he mentioned. “It’s at all times good when you will have two strikers which were scoring objectives, and essential objectives for us.
“The most effective instance is what occurred final Premier League sport in opposition to Newcastle, when each scored.
“When you will have an opportunity to start out a sport like Rodrigo, it’s important to step in and he did it. That is what you need.
“I do know that I made 10 modifications. Generally it’s not straightforward to maintain the identical consistency when it comes to the best way of play, however more often than not of the sport we did it.
“Rodrigo did one thing that’s actually robust. Contained in the field is de facto robust. I’m actually happy in regards to the second objective, as a result of it’s one thing that we have now been working with him, with a majority of these runs and strikes.
“That’s one thing that’s clear to enhance, to know typically that we can’t at all times play with our again to objective.
“Nice response for him. Not stunned, as he’s in a superb second, like Raul. Nice competitors, only for me, for me to determine who’s going to be one of the best resolution for every sport associated to the technique, the second, the opposition facet too.”
Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, in the meantime, has defended his squad rotation in the course of the FA Cup after their penalty victory over Exeter Metropolis.
Nuno made 10 modifications to the facet that thrashed Brighton 7-0 of their final Premier League match, with midfielder Danilo the one participant to retain his place within the beginning line-up.
Forest gamers have averaged extra minutes (1,032.2) than at some other membership within the Premier League as they sustain their battle for a Champions League place.
“This was our concept, to attempt to create a platform for our gamers to have sport time and assist us transfer ahead for the remainder of the season,” he mentioned.
“If everybody has minutes of their legs, it is going to make issues simpler for us [in the Premier League], I hope. So long as we’re wholesome and have sufficient numbers, I feel we are able to compete in each competitions very well.
“There are not any beginning gamers or substitutes, it’s a squad that we’ll use to face all of the competitions which can be forward of us.
“It isn’t about resting gamers, it’s about rewarding the gamers who’re working so arduous. Lots of them are coming into video games and having a lot affect, so why not change issues round?”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fulham – Raul Jimenez
Jimenez has scored three objectives in his final two Premier League video games in opposition to Nottingham Forest, whereas he’s additionally one away from reaching double figures within the league for the primary time since 2019-20.
The Mexican has additionally scored 4 objectives in his final six league video games, together with Fulham’s first in 2-1 their comeback win over Newcastle United final trip.
Nottingham Forest – Chris Wooden
Because the begin of final season, solely Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson of Chelsea (12) have mixed for extra Premier League objectives than Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wooden and Anthony Elanga (11), with Elanga’s 10 assists for Wooden essentially the most for a particular participant in that point.
Wooden is equal-third within the Premier League high goalscorer standings with 17, two again on Manchester Metropolis’s Erling Haaland and 5 additional adrift of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
MATCH PREDICTION: FULHAM WIN
Fulham have gained 4 of their 5 Premier League video games in opposition to Forest (L1), together with each conferences at Craven Cottage by an mixture rating of 7-0.
In addition they come into this in good latest kind, having gained two of their final three Premier League video games (L1), as many as of their earlier 10 video games within the competitors (D6 L2), and will win successive league matches for the primary time since November.
Fulham have additionally misplaced simply two of their final eight Premier League video games through which they’ve conceded the opening objective (W3 D3), with their three wins in 2024-25 solely bettered in 2002-03 (4).
Forest, nevertheless, have gained eight of their final 10 video games within the Premier League (D1 L1), with 5 of their 10 clear sheets within the league this season coming of their final eight matches.
Victory for Nuno’s facet will see them attain 50 factors in a top-flight season for the primary time since 1995-96, whereas doing so by their twenty fifth sport could be the second-fastest they’ve ever achieved so in a top-flight marketing campaign after 1977-78 (twenty third sport when changing to a few factors/win).
However they’ve misplaced 9 of their final 12 league video games in opposition to Fulham, profitable the opposite three. Two of these three victories got here in away matches (2-1 in August 2019 and 1-0 in April 2022, each within the Championship).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Fulham – 44%
Draw – 26.8%
Nottingham Forest – 29.2%