Stuart Pearce believes that two of Nottingham Forest’s summer signings can do damage at Fulham on Wednesday night. Steve Cooper will be desperate for the Tricky Trees to bounce back after suffering three consecutive Premier League defeats.
Forest picked up only eight Premier League points away from home last season. But they are on course to better that total this time around, having banked a big win at Chelsea in September.
Pearce believes that the addition of pace out wide through summer signings Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi has given his former club an extra bite away from the City Ground. And the former England international expects that to come into play at Craven Cottage.
“Elanga has impressed me the most,” Pearce told Express Sport. “Forest’s away form was really poor last year and I think the pace they’ve brought into the squad with him and Hudson-Odoi has offered them a counter-attack threat, especially on the road.
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“I’m expecting that to be their biggest weapon at Fulham.” Forest signed ex-Manchester United winger Elanga for £15million during the summer, before Hudson-Odoi joined from Chelsea in a cut-price deal on deadline day.
Pearce claims that, alongside the duo’s influence, winnable upcoming games against Wolves and Bournemouth could also give Forest a timely boost. “They’ve had some really tough games on the road,” he added.
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“They’ve been to Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, you name it. The fixtures have not been particularly kind to them. They’re coming into a run of games where they’ll feel as though they’ll pick points up.”
Like Forest, the Cottagers are on a concerning run heading into their midweek clash. Marco Silva’s side have won just one of their past six Premier League matches, and they scuppered a 3-2 lead by conceding two late goals against Liverpool at the weekend.
Losing Aleksandar Mitrovic’s goals in the summer has hit Fulham hard, and Pearce believes that his absence is negatively impacting all aspects of the team. “[He] brought a certain style of play,” he continued.
“They used to put a lot of balls in the box for him, an old-fashioned centre-forward who gets his head on a lot of things – even crosses that weren’t the greatest. They’ve not got that anymore and I think they’re suffering a little bit with their style of play. They’ve not got that same physicality in the team.”
Stuart Pearce will be working as a pundit for Prime Video’s coverage of Fulham vs Nottingham Forest on 6th December. Prime Video is broadcasting 20 Premier League fixtures this season, including a full round of fixtures in December, featuring matches such as Luton vs Arsenal, Manchester United vs Chelsea and Aston Villa vs Manchester City – plus every Boxing Day match.
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