Friday night’s City Ground friendly with Spanish outfit Real Sociedad will be the final time Sabri Lamouchi gets to watch his players in a match situation before the Championship season begins.
Having opted to downgrade Monday’s visit to Lincoln City, Nottingham Forest host the Basque side in what will be another firm pre-season test.
A week ago, Lamouchi enjoyed his first taste of action as boss at the City Ground watching his side beat Crystal Palace 1-0, and it would not be a huge surprise to see the Frenchman opt to start the same XI, as that looks his strongest on paper.
Given it’s his last chance to put his plans into place in a game situation before the Championship opener against West Brom a week on Saturday, the head coach will be keen to ensure his machine is finely tuned.
Costel Pantilimon was absent from the squad against Palace, with Lamouchi confirming the Romanian wasn’t injured, and he’ll be pushing for a return, though with Aro Muric likely to command the number one jersey this term, it’d be a surprise if he didn’t start.
Ben Watson is another who has impressed the new boss, and is expected to keep his place in the deep lying midfield role behind Alfa Semedo and Tiago Silva.
Matty Cash is likely to retain his advanced full-back role on the right, and Jack Robinson on the left with Joe Worrall and Alexander Milosevic in the middle, though Tobias Figueiredo may be a good option against the slick Spaniards.
The front three will almost certainly remain Albert Adomah, Lewis Grabban and Joe Lolley, while one man who is unlikely to be involved is Ben Osborn as he nears his move to Sheffield United.
One caveat to add is that it is pre-season and Lamouchi could well start with a completely different 11 to the one we’ve predicted below and surprise us all...
Predicted starting XI: Muric, Robinson, Worrall, Milosevic, Cash, Watson, Semedo, Silva, Lolley, Grabban, Adomah.
Have a go at picking the side you'd like to see start the final first team friendly of the summer...
