Nottingham Forest-Wolverhampton is a League Cup quarter-final match and is played on Wednesday at 20:45: line-ups, predictions, TV and streaming.
The League Cup is certainly not top of mind for the two coaches of Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton, two teams currently floundering in the Premier League and in danger of finishing bottom. But winning a domestic cup semi-final, especially from an emotional point of view, could give a not inconsiderable boost, also in view of a possible rise in the league.
As for the Garibaldi Reds, they have by no means snubbed the third national competition in order of importance so far: Steve Cooper has often played them with the starters and victories have come, even fairly convincing ones, against Grimsby Town, Tottenham – beaten 2-0 at the City Ground – and Blackburn. Forest now have the chance to clinch a League Cup penultimate act more than 30 years after the last time: in the 1991-92 season they went all the way to the final, which they then lost to Manchester United. Things went less well in the FA Cup, however, where not even a week ago Nottingham Forest suffered a heavy humiliation (4-1) at the home of Blackpool, a team that plays in the English cadet league: a defeat that even the coach himself had probably anticipated – obviously not in these proportions – deploying a line-up full of second lines.
Wolverhampton, on the other hand, made an impression last Saturday in the FA Cup, coming out unscathed from the Anfield Road challenge with Liverpool (2-2) and forcing the Reds into the replay, which Wolves will have the opportunity to play at Molineux, in front of their fans. The Lopetegui effect has been there: since the Spanish coach took the reins of the team, the black and gold have only been beaten, narrowly, by Manchester United.
Adama Traoré
The Prediction
Nottingham Forest will be serious this time and in the League Cup Cooper should field the best possible line-up. The City Ground is a fortress of sorts: Awoniyi and his teammates have not lost in front of their home crowd since September. We assume a very balanced and hard-fought game against a Wolverhampton side that appeared on the rise and came close to winning the FA Cup at Anfield. Unlike the league match, which ended 1-0 to Wolves, both should score at least one goal each. A draw in regulation time cannot be ruled out.
The likely line-ups for Nottingham Forest-Wolverhampton
- NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-3-1-2): Henderson; Aurier, Worrall, Boly, Renan Lodi; Mangala, Yates, Freuler; Johnson; Awoniyi, Gibbs-White.
- WOLVERHAMPTON (4-3-3): José Sa; Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Bueno; Matheus Nunes, Ruben Neves, Moutinho; Adama Traoré, Cunha, Guedes.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
