Nottingham Forest early team news v West Ham United: Ola Aina development in triple update
Nottingham Forest will be without Ola Aina, Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly for their match against West Ham United.
That is according to Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, as reported by BBC Sport (15 February), with the two clubs meeting on Saturday (17 February).
The Forest trio were all involved in the recent Africa Cup of Nations tournament, with Aina having lost in the final with Nigeria.
“Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo says his returnees from the African Cup of Nations – Ola Aina, Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly – will not be available for Saturday’s match with West Ham at the City Ground,” according to BBC Sport.
And when asked if he has spoken to Aina since the final loss, Nuno said: “No, not yet. We expect him today to arrive. We mentioned before it was a final. Ola for sure will be disappointed but for sure he’ll have the chance in the future.”
West Ham to leave with vital win?
Both West Ham and Forest could really do with a victory at the City Ground on Saturday, but for very different reasons.
The hosts will be desperate to push as far away from the Premier League bottom three as possible, having been dragged into a dreaded relegation battle in recent times.
The visitors meanwhile are still pushing for the European places, but those hopes have faded with a disastrous start to 2024.
Both clubs are very short in confidence, and could view their upcoming meeting as the perfect chance to kickstart a positive run.
That could ensure a nervous atmosphere at the City Ground, both on the pitch and in the stands, with home and away fans not wanting any early slip-ups.
Nuno’s Forest are certainly weaker without the presence of Aina, Sangare and Boly in their squad, which should give Hammers boss David Moyes and his players a little boost ahead of kick-off.
The travelling side do, however, have injury worries of their own, with both Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio being assessed ahead of the match.
In other West Ham news, Alan Shearer has reacted after what one “devastating” Arsenal player did to the Hammers during their recent clash.
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