Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham: History at Stake
Nottingham Forest head into Saturday’s clash with Tottenham with momentum, bodies back, and a slice of history within reach. Spurs arrive with no points, no goals, and a manager juggling absentees in key positions.
Four straight league wins over Tottenham have turned the City Ground into a problem fixture for the London club. A fifth would be unprecedented in this rivalry. Forest know it. Spurs feel it.
Glasner Gets His Midfield General – and a New Old Face
Oliver Glasner’s week started with good news. Ibrahim Sangaré is back.
The midfielder missed the 2-2 draw at Liverpool with a minor calf issue picked up in training, but he has been passed fit and is ready to anchor Forest’s midfield again. For a side that thrives on structure and intensity in the middle of the pitch, his return is a major boost.
Then there is Daniel Muñoz, the wild card who is anything but unknown to Glasner.
Signed from Crystal Palace on August 31, the Colombian is available for his first Forest appearance. He underwent nose surgery after the 2026 World Cup and will play in a protective mask, but the medical green light has arrived. The only caveat: a short pre-season means his match sharpness still needs work.
Glasner knows exactly what he is getting. At Palace, the pair collected the 2025 FA Cup, the Community Shield and the UEFA Conference League. On the biggest day of that run, Muñoz delivered: he set up the winning goal against Manchester City in the FA Cup final and walked away with the man-of-the-match award. This is not a speculative signing; it is a reunion built on trust and trophies.
Not every update leans positive. Nicolo Savona remains sidelined as he continues his recovery from the knee injury suffered in January. The Italian wing-back is back in partial training, but the Tottenham game comes too soon. Glasner is targeting a full return around the upcoming international break.
Even so, compared to the chaos on the away team sheet, Forest’s situation looks relatively calm. And dangerous.
De Zerbi’s Dilemma: Big Names, Big Absences
On the other side, Roberto De Zerbi walks into the City Ground with problems he cannot simply coach away.
James Maddison is back on the grass after fracturing his shoulder, but not back on the team sheet. De Zerbi has ruled him out of the trip, a significant blow for a side already struggling to create and convert.
Dejan Kulusevski’s story is just as frustrating. The Swede has finally rejoined full team training after more than a year out with a serious kneecap injury, yet Tottenham will not risk him. The long lay-off, the nature of the problem, and the lack of match rhythm mean his return to competitive action must wait.
Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons are also still missing, both working their way back from knee injuries. Each absence strips De Zerbi of another attacking angle, another option to change a game that might be tight and tense.
The timing could hardly be worse. Spurs opened their Premier League campaign with a 3-0 defeat to Brentford and a 2-0 loss to Newcastle. Two games, two defeats, no goals. No points.
That is not just a bad start; it is a historic one. Tottenham have not begun a league season with two defeats and no goals since 1974-75. They have only once in their history failed to score across their first three league fixtures. The weight of that statistic will sit heavily if the drought continues at the City Ground.
A Glimmer for Spurs: Sávio and Fresh Firepower
Amid the injury gloom, De Zerbi does have one genuine positive: Sávio is back.
The Brazilian missed the Newcastle defeat with muscle fatigue but has now been cleared to play. His return injects pace and unpredictability into a forward line that has looked blunt and short of ideas.
New attacking signings Omar Marmoush and Mathys Tel are also available, giving De Zerbi at least some flexibility as he searches for that elusive first league goal of the season. It is not the ideal platform — missing Maddison and Kulusevski while trying to bed in new arrivals — but it is something to build on.
One notable name is absent for a different reason. Richarlison has been left out of Tottenham’s registered Premier League squad. The Brazilian is training separately as the club works on a move away, with Saudi Arabia and Turkey among the possible destinations before their transfer windows close. For now, he is out of the picture, both on the pitch and on the teamsheet.
City Ground on Edge as Records Loom
Forest’s recent dominance in this fixture adds another layer to an already charged afternoon. They have beaten Tottenham in each of the last four Premier League meetings, including wins in December 2025 and March 2026. Spurs have turned up, and Forest have turned them over.
A fifth straight league victory over the Londoners would set a new club record in this head-to-head. With Sangaré back, Muñoz ready to step in, and a Spurs side arriving wounded and goalless, the stage is set.
Is this the day Forest write a new line in their history books — or the one where Tottenham finally wake up and tear the script apart?
