Spursvs.Nott'm Forest

In the short term, that changed on Tuesday night as Nuno Espirito Santo's side stormed to a 3-1 victory over Fulham at the City Ground, a result that has moved the club three points clear of the relegation zone, for the time being at least.

That has set Forest up for their trip to North London on Sunday evening to square off against a Tottenham Hotspur side that are chasing a top-four spot.

Nuno will be returning to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time since his 17-match reign came to an abrupt end in November 2021.

Forest supporters have already experienced a reunion of their own this campaign when Brennan Johnson, who was sold for a £47.5m fee in the summer, featured for Spurs in the reverse fixture in December.

On that occasion, Johnson's time on the pitch was cut short, a consequence of a head injury suffered in a challenge with Willy Boly, with the Forest academy graduate lasting just 32 minutes.

Johnson now a key player at Spurs

At that particular point in the campaign, Johnson was still bedding into life at Spurs. Just one goal and two assists had been posted in 10 top-flight outings for Ange Postecoglou's side.

Since then, though, the 22-year-old has evolved into a key player for Spurs, chipping in with four goals and five assists from 13 Premier League appearances since the reverse fixture.

Furthermore, Johnson's contributions have largely come in separate fixtures, with a single goal or assist being recorded in eight different games and his only double-salvo - two assists against Crystal Palace - coming in a 27-minute cameo from the substitutes' bench.

That return is all the more impressive because Johnson has completed the 90 minutes on just three occasions. Although he did not directly contribute when completing the game against Manchester United on January 14, Johnson played his part in a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.

In the short term, Johnson has emerged as one of the current top-performing players in the division, with two goals and three assists coming from his last 320 minutes of Premier League football.

Johnson's efforts at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are also nothing short of sensational. In his most recent 164 minutes at Spurs' home ground spanning across four games, he has two goals and three assists to his name.

Aside from a period in January and February 2023 when he chipped in with three goals and two assists during four Forest games where he featured for 350 minutes, this current spell of form is the best of his Premier League career.

How does Nuno fare at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

With regards to Nuno, much was made of his brief spell at Spurs, but the Portuguese takes Forest to the capital having won two of his three career away games at Spurs, all with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

However, it should be noted that one of those fixtures took place at Wembley Stadium, while Nuno's most recent visit with an opposing side in May 2021 ended in a 2-0 defeat.

When Nuno was in charge of Spurs, he delivered nine points from a possible 15, beating Manchester City in his first game but losing 3-0 to Manchester United in his last.