Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham tips and predictions: Spurs to hammer another nail in the Steve Cooper coffin

Forest boss Cooper has been skating on thin ice for quite a while now, and it surely can’t be too long before he is plunged into the icy waters of unemployment.

However, we’ve been here before with Cooper. Last season he was odds-on favourite to get the bullet for large parts of the campaign. But he turned the sinking ship around and pulled the club away from the danger zone.

The 1-1 draw at Wolves last weekend kept him in post for another week, and a victory against Spurs will surely keep him in the job until at least the New Year.

Importantly Cooper has the fans backing and that makes it hard for Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis to pull the trigger without a lot of thought.

Yes, the clubs’ bigwigs want to see improvement season-on-season, but sometimes clubs have to dance around the bottom of the table for a few seasons to establish themselves in the Premier League.

The Forest fans are wise enough to see that. Cooper took Forest up, kept them up and can do it again. Should a defeat to Spurs on Friday night seal his fate?

Forest’s form has been wretched. One point from the last five matches, including a 5-0 bottom smacking from Fulham is not great reading and would make even the most positive fan lean towards a Spurs win.

Forest have also won just one of the last eight against Spurs in all competitions. That was a Carabao Cup win last season, the filling between a Tottenham Premier League victory sandwich.

One small crumb of comfort is the four of the five goals Spurs scored in those two league games last season came from the now departed Harry Kane.

 

 

Heung-Min Son scored the other goal last season and I’m going to try and ignore the fact that the new Spurs captain is hitting form with two goals and three assists from the last three, as I’m trying to be positive for Forest.

But I can’t, Son will strike again here in another Spurs win as they also return to form after giving Newcastle a good thrashing last Sunday.

Spurs are leaky, no clean sheet in seven, so Forest might make both teams to score an appealing prospect. But over 2.5 goals and another win under Big Ange’s belt is on the cards.

If Forest show enough heart and fight against Spurs then Cooper could survive the festive period if he picks up a handful of points against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Manchester United.

 

Forest vs Spurs team news

Forest defender Murillo is a doubt for the clash after injuring a hamstring against Wolves and could join Taiwo Awoniyi and former Spurs defender Serge Aurier in missing the match.

Giovani Lo Celso picked up an injury in training this week and will join Spurs’ long list of crocks, although he might only be out for a short spell.

Long-term absentees Ivan Perisic, Alfie Whiteman, Manor Solomon, Ryan Sessegnon, Ashley Phillips, Rodrigo Bentancur, Micky van de Ven and James Maddison are all still out.

However, Postecoglou hopes to have Van de Ven and Maddison ready for selection in January.

 

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Forest vs Spurs key stats

-    Forest have beaten Spurs once in their last eight encounters across all competitions
-    Spurs have scored in their last 28 games in the Premier League
-    Forest have no win or clean sheet in five
-    Spurs have no clean sheet in seven

 

Predictions

Spurs win
Both teams to score
Over 2.5 goals
Heung-Min Son to score