Preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Nottingham Forest - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts suffered a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea last weekend, while Steve Cooper's side were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Monday night.

Match preview

Julen Lopetegui, Pedro Martins, Rob Edwards - a plethora of names have been thrown about here, there and everywhere as Wolves search for Bruno Lage's permanent successor, but the task of readying the team is set to fall upon the shoulders of Steve Davis once again.

The Under-18s head coach was handed a baptism of fire in the senior dugout as Wolves travelled to Chelsea last weekend, and no surprises were sprung at Stamford Bridge, as Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja found the back of the net in a routine 3-0 win for the Blues.

While the powers-that-be work around the clock to find their new head coach, Wolves continue to languish in the bottom three of the table and sit in 18th place with just six points to their name, but Southampton are only one clear in 17th and could be overtaken this weekend.

It does not take a mastermind to pinpoint the root of Wolves' struggles this season, with the Molineux club only finding the back of the net three times in their nine Premier League games - four fewer than the next two most profligate sides in Forest and Aston Villa.

The hosts' three recent defeats to Chelsea, West Ham United and Manchester City ended with a total of eight goals shipped and none scored, but the champions are the only team to get the better of Davis's men at Molineux this term, and Forest have been going through their own reshuffle ahead of this game.

In contrast to their upcoming hosts, Nottingham Forest have backed their under-fire manager Steve Cooper with a new contract at the City Ground, but two members of the recruitment team that oversaw the summer additions of 22 players are no more.

With Cooper seeking to maintain focus on his side's on-field endeavours after such a farcical episode, Forest were in the ascendancy against Aston Villa on Monday when Emmanuel Dennis headed home the opener, but a thunderous effort from Ashley Young rescued a point for Steven Gerrard's men.

As has been the case throughout the season, spending big in the transfer market has not translated into success for the Tricky Trees on the pitch, as they occupy 19th place in the table - one point better off than Leicester City and two adrift of safety.

A 1-1 draw with Villa did at least end Forest's painful five-game losing run in the Premier League, but their winless streak in the top flight now stands at seven games, and a goal difference of -12 away from home is the joint-worst in the league alongside Bournemouth.

For all of Wolves' failures in front of goal, Forest travel to Molineux having scored just once on the road in the 2022-23 Premier League, and the hosts ran out 4-0 winners when the sides met in the second round of the EFL Cup last season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:

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Nottingham Forest Premier League form:

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Team News

Wolves will remain without centre-back Nathan Collins as he serves the third and final game of his suspension, but Ruben Neves will be back after completing a ban of his own in the defeat to Chelsea.

Raul Jimenez, Chiquinho, Pedro Neto and Sasa Kalajdzic make up a wealth of attacking absentees for the hosts, and Neto's ankle issue will require surgery - ending his World Cup hopes - while Boubacar Traore will aim to return from illness to make the squad.

As Neves prepares to return to the recognised midfield triumvirate alongside Matheus Nunes and Joao Moutinho, either Daniel Podence or Adama Traore should make way, and Diego Costa should continue to lead the line despite pressure from Hwang Hee-chan.

With regard to Nottingham Forest, Cooper is still without the trio of Jack Colback, Moussa Niakhate and Omar Richards for the trip to Wolverhampton, but no fresh concerns have arisen since the Villa draw.

Dennis can expect to operate at the tip of the attack again after scoring on his first Premier League start for the Tricky Trees, while Neco Williams will hope for an immediate recall to the right-back area over Serge Aurier.

Steve Cook is walking a tightrope, as another yellow card would incur a one-game ban for the centre-back, but he should still form part of a near-identical XI for the visitors.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Semedo, Kilman, Toti, Jonny; Nunes, Neves, Moutinho; Traore, Costa, Guedes

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Williams, Cook, McKenna, Toffolo; Kouyate, Yates, Freuler; Johnson, Dennis, Gibbs-White

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Nottingham Forest

It would not be a complete surprise to see this encounter between two confidence-sapped sides end goalless, but the importance of Neves's return cannot be understated, and Wolves have proven a tough nut to crack more often than not at Molineux.

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