Chris Wood has been the catalyst for Nottingham Forest’s push towards a Champions League finish and the FA Cup final this season. He’s scored 18 goals across his 30 Premier League matches, making him far and away Forest’s top scorer in the Premier League this season. 

He’s had 32 shots on target across these games (1.18 per 90) with his clinical nature standing out this term. Chris Wood has managed to exceed his xG by seven goals this season (11.0-18), which is the biggest xG disparity of any striker who features regularly in the Premier League this season. This suggests that Wood is the most clinical finisher in the league based on the quality of chances that he is getting. 

Wood will be crucial if Forest is to get anything from this game. He didn’t manage to find the target in the initial meeting between the sides, but Forest did manage to register three shots on target. They should be able to improve on this record with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side needing at least a point to ensure that they don’t get overtaken in the race for a Champions League finish.

Williams was in the wars in the initial meeting between the sides, he was hauled down on four occasions, playing as a left back on that occasion. He also committed a foul himself at the City Ground from 13 duels in total, which suggests that he’ll be in the thick of the action again here. 

Williams has been deployed as a left back and a right back this season, also occasionally being positioned as a wingback when Forest have been contending with injuries in the backline. He’s set to shift to right back here with Ola Aina still absent with a calf injury. Williams is just as aggressive in his duels on both sides of the pitch, so this position switch shouldn’t affect his foul record too much here. 

He’ll be up against Mathys Tel, who has looked bright at times since joining on loan from Bayern Munich in January. Tel has won four fouls across his five starts in the Premier League (0.90 per 90) and will test Williams, who has committed 19 fouls across his 22 starts in the Premier League this season (0.83 per 90).

Matz Sels is averaging 3.25 saves per 90 in the Premier League this season. Only six keepers have been called into action more frequently than the 33-year-old who has been crucial in maintaining Forest’s excellent defensive record this season. 

Sels was forced into making four saves in the initial meeting between the sides, despite Tottenham being reduced to 10 men. Tottenham haven’t really had many issues when it comes to creating chances, they’re averaging 5.3 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season, which is a record only bettered by four sides in the division.

Tottenham’s attacking approach naturally sees them rack up corners at a more than steady rate. They’re averaging 7.69 corners per game at home in the Premier League this season, only Arsenal (7.88) are winning more corners than Tottenham at home this campaign.

Tottenham racked up seven corners in the meeting between the sides at the City Ground. Forest won’t mind Tottenham having the ball and undertaking the majority of the probing here, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side looking for an opportunity where they can catch them on the break. 

No side has won more corners in the Premier League than Tottenham this season (224). This reinforces the suggestion that Tottenham aren’t too far away in attacking areas but have struggled in maintaining a defensive organisation, which ultimately has defined their season and explains why they are where they are in the league table.

Elanga scored the winner in the meeting between these sides at the City Ground. He had two shots on target in that game as Tottenham were reduced to 10 men. Elanga has enjoyed an excellent individual season, registering 14 goal contributions across his 32 appearances in the Premier League - only Chris Wood has recorded more goal contributions for Nottingham Forest this season. 

He’s averaging 0.72 shots on target per 90 across the season as a whole and can hurt Tottenham here with his speed on the break as he did in the meeting between the sides at the City Ground. Tottenham can struggle to deal with sides that excel on the break. We saw this in their 4-2 defeat to Wolves in their most recent Premier League outing, which saw the Lilywhites exposed in the gaps they would leave when venturing forward. 

There aren’t many players better suited to exploiting this naivety at the back than Anthony Elanga. He had two of the three shots on target that Forest managed at the City Ground and can continue to be a thorn in the side of Ange Postecoglu’s team as Forest look to cement their spot in the Champions League next season.

Nicolas Dominguez has collected eight yellow cards this season, the joint most in the Forest squad alongside Ryan Yates. Dominguez has committed 27 fouls across his 28 Premier League appearances this season, but only 18 of these games have been starts, taking his average to 1.55 per 90 - an average that could be set to rise up against a Tottenham midfield which are really strong when it comes to winning fouls.

Dominguez didn’t feature in the initial meeting between these sides, but both Ryan Yates and Elliot Anderson, who lined up in the middle of the park at the City Ground, were shown a yellow card. This shows how Tottenham can dominate the game in the middle of the park, forcing Forest to commit fouls as the team tasked with undertaking the majority of the defensive work here.

Dominguez is likely to be up against James Maddison, who has won 63 fouls across his 30 appearances in the Premier League this season (3.20 per 90) - making him the most consistently fouled player in the Tottenham squad, which should present a real challenge for the occasionally reckless Dominguez.

Forest are averaging 4.5 shots on target per game in the Premier League this season. They fell one shot on target short of this mark in the meeting between the sides at the City Ground, but should be spurred on to match their average here, given what is at stake regarding the race for a Champions League finish. 

Tottenham can be exposed at the back, they conceded five shots on target in their most recent Premier League outing against Wolves, which highlighted their vulnerability to the counterattack. There is no better side than Forest in the Premier League at breaking with speed, something Tottenham have struggled with time and time again this campaign. 

Forest can match their shot on target average across the campaign against a Spurs side that is particularly vulnerable to counterattacks with the space they leave behind when pushing on with their aggressive attacking approach.

Forest have been slightly less secure on the road this season, but have avoided defeat in 10 of their 16 games away from the City Ground this term. Only Newcastle, Liverpool, and Arsenal have amassed more points on the road this season than Nottingham Forest, which shows how effective their approach can be on the road. 

Tottenham have struggled to find consistency at home this season, they’ve only managed to win six of their 16 games on home turf, which is a record that ranks 12th in the Premier League. 

Nottingham Forest ran out 1-0 winners in the initial meeting between the sides and can make the most of Tottenham’s fatigue following their intense European quarter-final last week and their tendency to leave too much space behind when pressing forward.