Fighting it out for the final place in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Premier League foes Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town meet at the City Ground in Monday's fifth-round encounter.
Both sides earned fourth-round wins away from home versus lower-league opposition, albeit in entirely different manners, as the Tricky Trees needed penalties to eliminate Exeter City while their visitors thumped Coventry City.
Match preview
© Imago
Almost suffering one away humiliation right after another, Nottingham Forest hit the road to face Exeter in their latest FA Cup engagement following their 5-0 slaughter at the hands of Bournemouth, and Nuno Espirito Santo's much-changed side needed the lottery of penalties to advance.
Despite playing with a man advantage for the entire extra-time period, where the cavalry in the shape of Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White was called upon, the Champions League chasers had to rely on Angus MacDonald and Reece Cole fluffing their lines from the spot following a 2-2 draw.
Nevertheless, any progression is better than no progression for a Garibaldi outfit who have not come up trumps in the FA Cup since their second and most recent tournament triumph in 1959, not helped by losing four of their last five matches in the fifth round of the competition.
Forest's run in 2023-24 coincidentally ended at this stage at the hands of holders Manchester United, and the hosts come into Monday's match having seen their Premier League powers wane, only taking one point from the last nine on offer in the top division.
However, that solitary point came in a gritty goalless draw with fellow top-four contenders Arsenal in midweek, leaving Santo's men on the Premier League podium in third place and extending their unbeaten run at the City Ground to eight matches, five of which have seen them keep clean sheets.
© Imago
While Forest laboured to victory versus Exeter in the fourth round, Ipswich flexed their Premier League-sized muscles to emphatically eliminate last year's beaten semi-finalists Coventry City, who quickly responded to George Hirst's opener before the floodgates opened.
The Coventry Building Society Arena ended up being the venue for the Jack Clarke show, as the one-time Tottenham Hotspur man bagged a brace before laying on an assist for Jaden Philogene in a 4-1 drubbing, one which succeeded an equally emphatic 3-0 win over Bristol Rovers in round three.
Adding a second FA Cup trophy to their cabinet is not exactly high on the agenda for Ipswich, whose first and only triumph in the competition came in 1978 as they stunned Arsenal in the final, but even making it to the last 16 represents their best run since 2006-07, when Watford sent them packing at this point.
Not since the 1992-93 season - where Arsenal gained revenge for their final loss 15 years before - have the Tractor Boys made the quarter-finals, and in another bad omen for Kieran McKenna's men, the visitors have lost each of their last 13 FA Cup games against Premier League sides.
Suffering six losses and only managing one draw from their last seven top-flight games - most recently being edged out 3-2 by a 10-man Manchester United - also stands Ipswich in bad stead, not to mention November's 1-0 loss to Forest at the City Ground, their 15th straight game without an away win against Monday's hosts.
Team News
© Imago
In typical Santo fashion, the Forest boss refused to give much away when asked for a team news update at his pre-game press conference, simply stating that some unnamed players had bumps and bruises that would need assessing over the weekend.
What we do know is that towering goalkeeper Carlos Miguel is due to miss out with the hamstring injury he suffered against Exeter, meaning that there should be no respite for Matz Sels unless Wayne Hennessey is thrown in for a surprise start.
The calibre of opposition means that Santo should not make as many changes as he did in the fourth round, but Ramon Sosa in particular might be hopeful of promotion from the bench, having scored in both the third and fourth round as he aims to become the first Forest player since Lee Chapman in 1989 to net in the first three stages of one FA Cup campaign.
Santo's opposite number McKenna was a bit more open on the fitness front, confirming that Omari Hutchinson would miss this match owing to the knee injury he picked up against Man United, joining Wes Burns (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles), Christian Walton (groin) and Kalvin Phillips (calf) on the sidelines.
Julio Enciso is also nursing a knee problem but is cup-tied anyway, although Conor Chaplin (knee) and Arijanet Muric (shoulder) could both come back into contention for Monday's fixture, where McKenna has suggested he will reward his players who came up with the goods in the earlier rounds.
As a result, there is every chance that fourth-round scorer Hirst could threaten Liam Delap's place in the final third, where Sammie Szmodics should be recalled to step in for the stricken Hutchinson.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Morato, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Danilo; Jota, Gibbs-White, Sosa; Awoniyi
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Tuanzebe, O'Shea, Woolfenden, Townsend; Cajuste, Morsy; Philogene, Szmodics, Clarke; Delap
We say: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Ipswich Town
Not only have Ipswich been conceding goals, they have been doing so at an alarming rate, shipping 23 in their last eight matches at an average of nearly three per game.
Therefore, even if McKenna's men can extend their scoring sequence to seven games in all competitions, their rearguard frailties should be exposed by Forest, whose fully-fit contingent of attacking options should fire them into the quarter-final draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
