After Adlene Guedioura’s poor performance in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers, Aitor Karanka must bring back Claudio Yacob to the midfield for Wednesday’s trip to Norwich. Forest travel to Carrow Road in midweek to lock horns with the Canaries and will need a ball-winning midfielder alongside Jack Colback to provide extra protection to the backline.
Guedioura was given a rare start on the weekend to give Forest more threat in the final third. The 33-year-old likes to drive from deep in possession and has an eye for goal, but he was wasteful on the ball against QPR and ended up being more a hindrance than a help. Yacob and Colback had shone in previous games, so Karanka should atone for his selection error and reinstate the Argentine.
Having the combative pair at the heart of the midfield will place an onus on Joe Lolley and Joao Carvalho to provide the creativity, however. Forest have failed to score a goal in their last three Championship games, so Karanka has a choice on how he wants his side to approach their upcoming fixture. Norwich are currently second in the table, enjoying an 11-game unbeaten run and five consecutive wins on home soil. Defence-first might be the smart approach.
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