Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Sarah Clapson

Cafu or Yates? Grabban or Murray? - The big dilemmas Nottingham Forest boss faces against Blackburn

After a frustrating night in Wales, Nottingham Forest will be looking to get back to winning ways against Blackburn Rovers this weekend.

And they could welcome back midfielder Ryan Yates for the City Ground clash.

The 23-year-old has been sidelined for the last month, but is now back in training and potentially in line for his first appearance since the defeat to Middlesbrough.

But will he come straight back into the starting line-up?

Frank Clark on the impact of footballers earning a lot of money

It is something of a dilemma for boss Chris Hughton as he looks to put the midweek 1-0 defeat at Swansea City behind him.

The Reds put in arguably their best performance of the season at the Liberty Stadium. For much of the game they were the better side against a team fighting for promotion. They had the chances to claim all three points, and should have got a draw at the very least.

And the midfield partnership of Cafu and James Garner worked particularly well.

Yates has been a regular this term, but he may have to be patient when it comes to earning a recall.

Even if he is available, dropping either Cafu or Garner after Wednesday night would be harsh - unless the manager feels the former is in need of a rest as the fixtures begin to rack up again.

Hughton could also have a decision to make over Luke Freeman, who missed the last game after his wife gave birth the day before.

He is expected to be back for the visit of Rovers, but Joe Lolley will no doubt feel he did enough to keep his place in the line-up.

And who plays up front also presents a dilemma.

Lewis Grabban made his return from a hamstring problem against the Swans, but was left to rue a missed opportunity for the Reds when they broke three-on-one.

Dropping him to the bench after one game back would be a big call, but there is certainly a battle between Grabban and Glenn Murray over the starting striker spot.

That also seems to be the case at left-back, with Yuri Ribeiro and Gaetan Bong competing to be the first XI.

Ribeiro got his chance again last time out and generally did well, despite being out-jumped for what proved to be the winning goal.

It seems likely Hughton will again stick with the same back line, but Bong will continue to breathe down the Portuguese’s neck.

Predicted Forest XI: Samba, Christie, Figueiredo, Worrall, Ribeiro, Cafu, Garner, Lolley, Krovinovic, Knockaert, Grabban.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.