Martin O’Neill could make two changes for Nottingham Forest’s meeting with Ipswich on Saturday – Joao Carvalho could be dropped for Jack Robinson and Karim Ansarifard might make way for Daryl Murphy.
Robinson should return to left-back, pushing Ben Osborn to left-wing. Ansarifard underperformed in midweek against Aston Villa and was replaced by Murphy after an hour.
The Reds have lost two of their last three league games and have taken a big hit to their playoff hopes. They currently sit 10th in the Championship, three points off the top-six.
As for Ipswich, Paul Lambert’s side are Ipswich bottom of the table and are without a win in their last 10 games. Forest can ill-afford to drop more points as a result, so O’Neill could pick a starting eleven that he can trust, rather than one that is unpredictable.
O’Neill should load the bench up with plenty of attacking talent – Ryan Yates, Adlene Guedioura, Carvalho, Diogo Goncalves, Leo Bonatini – just in case Forest are chasing a goal at Portman Road.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Costel Pantilimon, Tendayi Darikwa, Yohan Benalouane, Alexander Milosevic, Jack Robinson, Pele, Jack Colback, Ben Watson, Joe Lolley, Ben Osborn, Daryl Murphy
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
Team News: Nottingham Forest without seven players for Ipswich clash, defender returns