Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has admitted their clash against Fulham at the City Ground tomorrow afternoon will be one of his side's toughest fixtures of the season, speaking to Nottinghamshire Live ahead of the tie.

Forest come into this game off the back of a six-game unbeaten run and have won 13 points out of a possible 15 under Steve Cooper so far.

Previously sitting at the bottom of the Championship table, they are in 14th position ahead of this afternoon's fixtures and as one of the in-form teams in the second tier, are now one of the favourites to charge into the play-off zone.

 

 

Considering the East Midlands outfit are now plying their trade under a manager who achieved consecutive top-six finishes at Swansea City before his departure in July, they have every chance of doing so and will be hoping some of their summer additions who are yet to appear for the club can provide the strength in depth needed to sustain a promotion push.

However, they come up against a side who climbed into the top two with a win against strugglers Cardiff City in midweek and after keeping the core of their squad together from their Premier League campaign last term, they added even more quality with the likes of Harry Wilson and Nathaniel Chalobah arriving in west London during the previous transfer window.

With this, the Cottagers are favourites to secure an instant return back to the top flight at the first time of asking and Forest boss Cooper is all too aware of the challenge his side will face at 3pm tomorrow as he had his say on their opponents and their manager.

Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live in his pre-match press conference, he said: "It’s a tough one, but it’s one we’re looking forward to and one we’ll be ready for.

"It’s certainly one of, if not the toughest, games you’re going to face because of the outstanding set of players they have - a lot of them are ready-made for the Premier League.

"They were in the top-flight last year and have come down, so they have a lot of resource which goes into the squad.

"They’ve got a really top-end manager for the league who is very experienced and who has worked in top leagues around Europe, including the Premier League.

"There’s no hiding away from the fact this will be one of the toughest games.

"But you have to focus on yourself, which we will. We’re at home, we’re going well, so let’s go for it. We have to really believe in what we do.

"I always say you have to respect the opponent, and no more so than Fulham, but this is a league where you have to thrive on challenges and tackle things head on. That will be our mentality for every game, not just this one."

The Verdict:

Steve Cooper is right about Fulham - because they have a huge amount of quality in their squad and undoubtedly have the depth required to secure an instant return to the Premier League.

Wilson was a particularly good signing for Marco Silva, because the Welshman has consistently shone in the Championship and has produced the number of goal contributions in the past to take the Cottagers to the next level.

Not only has he impressed in the second tier, but he has done it at a range of clubs including Derby County and Cardiff City. And to be fair, he even did well during his loan spell at AFC Bournemouth in the top tier.

But this shouldn't take away from the quality they have throughout their team. Joe Bryan, who has been behind Antonee Robinson in the pecking order, is more than good enough to start every game for most Championship sides and can count himself unlucky not to have played more than he has in 2021/22 so far.

They have shown signs of vulnerability against Reading and Coventry City though, so there are definitely weaknesses for Forest to exploit if the home side are on top form tomorrow afternoon. They certainly showed the spirit required to succeed in this league on Tuesday night.