Wrexham are coming into this game vs Nottingham Forest on the back of four consecutive victories in all competitions. On paper, the Welsh outfit are the underdog, but they will certainly fancy their chances at home.
In addition, Nottingham Forest have been quite underwhelming this season. The Tricky Trees have lost four of the last five matches across all competitions, and they will need to raise their performance to get something out of this contest.
It has been a difficult campaign for the Midlands outfit, and they will look to do well in the competitions to relieve some pressure. Nottingham Forest are the better team than Wrexham, but they need to perform at a higher level to get a good result. It will be interesting to see which of the two teams comes out on top.
Wrexham will be without Danny Ward (elbow), Elliott Lee (knee), Kieffer Moore (hamstring), and Ryan Hardie (knee) for the FA Cup third-round clash vs Nottingham Forest this week.
The home side will start in a 3-2-4-1 formation with Arthur Okonkwo in goal. In the back three, Max Cleworth will start alongside Dominic Hyam and Callum Doyle.
Matty James and Ben Sheaf will start as the central midfielders, tasked with protecting the back three and breaking down the opposition’s attacking moves. Ryan Longman and George Thomason will start on the flanks and look to provide creativity and forward thrust.
Josh Windass and Nathan Broadhead will start as the central midfielders here. Finally, Sam Smith will be leading the line vs Nottingham Forest on Friday.
Probable Lineup (3-2-4-1): Okonkwo; Cleworth, Hyam, Doyle; Sheaf, James; Longman, Windass, Broadhead, Thomason; Smith
John Victor (calf), Chris Wood (knee), Dan Ndoye (knock), and Ryan Yates (thigh) remain in the treatment room. Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly are away on AFCON duty with the Ivory Coast.
Nottingham Forest will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Wrexham, with Matz Sels in goal. Neco Williams and Nicolo Savona will start as the full-backs. They will look to keep things tight at the back and help out going forward. Murillo will start alongside Nikola Milenkovic at the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, Douglas Luiz will add physicality and drive to the side alongside Elliot Anderson in the double pivot. Anderson will look to add defensive cover and control.
Morgan Gibbs-White will add creativity and goals to the side in the final third. Omari Hutchinson and Callum Hudson-Odoi will start on the flanks, and they will look to add pace, flair, and unpredictability going forward. Finally, Igor Jesus will lead the line for Nottingham Forest vs Wrexham on Friday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sels; Savona, Murillo, Milenkovic, Williams; Luiz, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Igor Jesus
The Nottingham Forest midfielder is our key player to watch out for. He will look to create opportunities for his teammates and find the back of the net. Nottingham Forest will need him to step up and produce a strong performance in the final third.
The Tricky Trees have looked quite poor in attack in recent weeks, and they need someone who can take on the creative responsibility in the final third and create opportunities. Gibbs-White is in impressive form right now, and he has scored in the last two matches for Nottingham Forest. It will be interesting to see if he can help his team progress through the next round of the competition.
Both teams will be fighting for a victory here, and this is likely to be a close contest. Nottingham Forest are in poor form right now, and they are up against a confident Wrexham outfit. However, the visitors have a better team on paper, and they will be desperate to bounce back.
The two sides are likely to get on the score sheet, but the Premier League side has greater quality and depth in its attacking unit, and they should be able to edge this one. A narrow victory for the away team is on the cards here. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Sean Dyche and his charges.
