After an extremely impressive start to the 2017/18 campaign, Nottingham Forest’s form has dipped in recent weeks, with Mark Warburton’s squad struggling to find any consistency.

Forest have just one victory in the Sky Bet Championship from their last four fixtures, with Warburton’s side slipping out of the division’s play-off places.

Warburton has tinkered with both personnel and his formation at Forest in recent weeks, and here at FLW we believe that it is time for him to go back to basics with a settled 4-2-3-1 formation when they face Aston Villa this weekend.

Forest have used a particular defensive unit for the majority of the season, and that is unlikely to change against Villa, with Tendayi Darikwa, Joe Worrall, Matt Mills and Armand Traore lining up from right to left ahead of Jordan Smith in goal.

A midfield pairing of Liam Bridcutt and Andrea Bouchalakis offers Forest balance in the middle of the pitch, with the duo able to protect the defence, whilst the latter also has a venomous strike in his locker.

Ahead of them Barrie McKay is an obvious choice out wide, whilst we have opted for Mustapha Carayol on the opposite side, after the winger impressed stepping off the bench against Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.

Warburton appears to have been torn between Kieran Dowell and Zach Clough in the number 10 role, and we believe it is time for £2.5m-rated Clough to come into the team on a regular basis, to become the creative cog in Forest’s side behind lone striker, Daryl Murphy.

Nottingham Forest fans… What do you make of this XI? Let us know your thoughts!