Nottingham Forest will look to relieve pressure on manager Steve Cooper when they face a resurrected Tottenham Hotspur on Friday night.
Forest moved five points clear of the relegation zone with a 1-1 draw at Wolves last weekend, but Cooper remains under threat.
The Tricky Trees manager has overseen a run of just one win in 12 games, with the stalemate at Molineux following a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Fulham.
Tottenham, meanwhile, returned to winning ways after a difficult period, defeating Newcastle 4-1 to secure fifth place.
The north London club was previously the first to score first in five consecutive Premier League games but lose one.
Spurs now have the opportunity to tie fourth-placed Manchester City on points with another victory, live on talkSPORT.
Tottenham fans were in a panic after losing Harry Kane in the summer, but Ange Postecoglou had a solution ready.
Spurs have more goals than they did with Kane at this point in the season, thanks in large part to Heung-min Son.
Son has mostly played as a center-forward this season, but he moved to the left wing against Newcastle after Richarlison’s return.
Playing out wide again had little effect on Son’s output, as he added another goal and two assists on Sunday.
Son has now scored 10 goals and assisted on four others in his last 13 Premier League games.
Only Erling Haaland (8) has scored more away goals this season than Tottenham’s captain (7).
Tottenham has won just three of their 12 Premier League games played on Fridays (D4 L5), the competition’s lowest win rate on a specific day of the week (25%).
Nottingham Forest lost both of their Friday Premier League games last season, but won their previous match this season against Sheffield United. The City Ground has hosted all three of their Friday games in the competition.
Tottenham has scored first in a league-high 13 Premier League games this season, but has failed to win six of them (W7 D2 L4). They’ve scored first in each of their last ten Premier League games, their longest such streak.
The hosts’ injury woes worsened against Wolves last time out, as defender Murillo suffered a hamstring strain.
Taiwo Awoniyi is still out, and former Tottenham full-back Serge Aurier will miss the reunion due to a calf problem.
Spurs are missing several long-term players, including James Maddison and Micky van de Ven.
Manor Solomon, Alfie Whiteman, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ashley Phillips, and Eric Dier are also out.
Richarlison’s brace against Newcastle last time out doubled his Premier League goal tally for Tottenham (2 in 39 previous appearances). He hasn’t scored in two consecutive league games since May 2022, when he played his final two games for Everton.
Only Brighton (67) have used more different players in their starting XI this season than Nottingham Forest (44), and only Newcastle (30) have used more different players than Forest (28).
Tottenham have scored in each of their last 28 Premier League games, their longest scoring streak in league football since a 32-game run from February to November 1962.
Morgan Gibbs-White believes Steve Cooper has the support of his Nottingham Forest teammates to turn their season around.
When asked what Cooper meant to the team, Gibbs-White told talkSPORT: “He means everything.”
“I don’t think any other manager could have done what he’s done, not just for the club, but for the city in general.” That is why we have such high hopes for him.”
“I haven’t spoken to Brennan about the game yet,” Gibbs-White said of facing former teammate Brennan Johnson. I’ll probably get a FaceTime from him, and he’ll ask me about the tactics!
“It was a blow losing Brennan at the start of the season and especially given the impact he had and the numbers he gave us last season, but we’ve got in so many good players now and some fresh ones.”
Nottingham Forest have now lost their last four Premier League games against Tottenham after winning four consecutive league games against them between 1995 and 1997.
Tottenham have won their last two Premier League away games against Nottingham Forest, and they are aiming for three straight away league wins against Forest for the first time since a four-game streak between 1989 and 1991.
Nottingham Forest have now lost as many Premier League home games in a row as they had in their previous 20 (W9 D9). They last lost three games in a row in August/September of last season, including a loss to Tottenham.
This Premier League match is scheduled for Friday, December 15.
talkSPORT will provide live and exclusive coverage from the City stadium, with kick-off set for 8 p.m.
Hugh Woozencroft will be your host, with Adam Bridge and former England defender Stuart Pearce providing commentary.
talkSPORT.com will also provide a live blog of all the action.
