Wolverhampton Wanderers take on Nottingham Forest in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night and they will be hoping to book their place in the semi-finals of the tournament with a victory.
Wolves are coming into this game on the back of an impressive performance against Liverpool in the FA Cup and they will be fairly confident of grinding out a positive result here.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest were eliminated from the FA Cup after a comprehensive defeat against Blackpool at the weekend and the home fans will be expecting a strong reaction from the players here.
Nottingham Forest picked up a comfortable win over Blackburn Rovers in the last round of the League Cup and they will have to produce a similar performance here in order to get something out of this contest.
Wolves and Nottingham Forest have both struggled in the Premier League this season and both teams will fancy their chances against each other.
A big week ahead. pic.twitter.com/a0T7PBGd8U
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 8, 2023
Team News and Tactics
Nottingham Forest
The home side have a number of injury problems to deal with.
They will be without Jesse Lingard, Moussa Niakhate, Giulian Biancone, Omar Richards, and Cheikhou Kouyate because of injury problems.
Nottingham Forest are likely to line up in a 4-3-1-2 formation with Wayne Hennessey in goal. Serge Aurier and Renan Lodi are expected to be deployed as the full-backs with Joe Worrall partnering with Willy Boly at the heart of the defense.
In the midfield three, Ryan Yates is expected to partner Remo Freuler and Orel Mangala. Morgan Gibbs White will be deployed as the attacking midfielder and he will be expected to add creativity and drive to the side.
The likes of Brennan Johnson and Sam Surridge will lead the line for the hosts.
Probable Lineup (4-3-1-2): Hennessey; Aurier, Worrall, Boly, Lodi; Yates, Freuler, Mangala; Gibbs White; Surridge, Johnson
Wolves
The visitors will be without the services of Chiquinho, Sasa Kalajdzic, Pedro Neto, and Boubacar Traore because of injury problems.
Wolves are likely to start in a 4-4-2 formation with Matija Sarkic in goal.
Nelson Semedo and Jonny Otto are expected to be the full-backs with Nathan Collins partnering with Maximilian Kilman at the heart of the defense.
Adama Traore and Rayan Ait Nouri will be deployed as the wingers here and they will look to double down as the full-backs as well while defending.
Ruben Neves is expected to start in the center of the park alongside Joe Hodge.
Goncalo Guedes and Raul Jimenez are expected to lead the line for the visitors.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Sarkic; Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Jonny; Traore, Neves, Hodge, Ait Nouri; Guedes, Jimenez
Key Stats
- Wolves have picked up nine wins and two draws from their last 16 meetings against Nottingham Forest.
- Nottingham Forest have failed to win six of their last eight matches at home against Wolves.
- Wolves managed to win the last EFL Cup meeting against Nottingham Forest.
- Wolves have kept four clean sheets in their last six matches against Nottingham Forest.
Player to watch
Adama Traore
The Wolves winger is likely to get a start here and he could cause all sorts of problems for the Nottingham Forest defense with his pace and flair. The home side have been quite vulnerable at the back all season and they will struggle to cope with his physicality and directness.
Traore harassed the Liverpool backline in his last outing and he will be determined to make his mark here as well.
Prediction
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Wolves
The home side will be desperate to get back to winning ways after the disappointing showing against Blackpool in the last game. This is an opportunity for them to appease the fans with a strong showing.
However, Wolves looked like a far better team in their last outing against Liverpool and they will be in high spirits heading into this game. They have an excellent record against Nottingham Forest and the visitors will be favourites to edge this contest as well. The Hard Tackle predicts a narrow win for Wolves.