Preview: Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur - prediction, team news, lineups

The first instalment of the unofficial Ange Postecoglou derby, a resurgent Nottingham Forest host a revitalised Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday's Premier League clash at the City Ground.

Both sides conquered foes on the continent in midweek, as the Lilywhites eased past Slavia Prague 3-0 in Champions League action, while the hosts eked out a 2-1 Europa League win over FC Utrecht.

Match preview

From a disastrous November to a merry December, Spurs fans may finally be feeling some festive cheer, as Thomas Frank aims to propel the Europa League winners to their third straight victory in all competitions and fourth successive game without defeat.

After closing out last month with a terrible three consecutive losses, a rejuvenated Spurs side have claimed two wins and a draw from their last three, stealing a point from Newcastle United before back-to-back successes over Brentford and Slavia Prague.

Home was formerly where the hatred was for Tottenham, but the Lilywhites' 2-0 triumph against Brentford last weekend moved them to within just three points of fifth-placed Chelsea, even if they are still languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League standings.

Frank now aims for a three-game winning sequence for the first time as Tottenham head coach, but the Lilywhites' exploits on their travels are not as pleasing as they used to be, with three losses and a draw from their last four away from home.

Nevertheless, 15 Premier League goals on the road this season is the joint-most of any club alongside London rivals Chelsea, and Spurs have netted at least twice in six of their seven top-flight away matches in 2025-26, the outlier being their North London derby drubbing at the hands of Arsenal.

Tottenham's total of 14 points on the road is double that of Forest's tally of seven on home soil this season, but after the Nuno Espirito Santo saga and Postecoglou disaster, Sean Dyche has steadied the ship and then some.

Overseeing six wins, two draws and just three losses in his first 11 games at the helm, the former Burnley and Everton boss appears to have found the perfect culture fit both at the City Ground and in the Europa League, where his side have claimed 10 points from the last 12 on offer.

A hard-fought win over Utrecht on Thursday was the perfect tonic to a 3-0 humbling at the hands of Everton last time out in the Premier League, where the 17th-placed Garibaldi lie just two points above West Ham United in the relegation zone.

While the hosts have conceded in all of their home games this season, that may not matter too much on Sunday if they can find the net themselves; Forest are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League matches where they have scored at least once.

Furthermore, Spurs have never won a Premier League game at the City Ground when conceding, and Santo memorably led the Garibaldi to the double over the Lilywhites in 2024-25, including a 1-0 home success on Boxing Day.

Nottingham Forest Premier League form:

Nottingham Forest form (all competitions):

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

Team News

Tottenham go into gameweek 16 without their well-documented absentees in Dejan Kulusevski (knee), James Maddison (knee), Destiny Udogie (thigh) and Dominic Solanke (ankle), as well as the disciplined and injured Yves Bissouma.

Kota Takai (thigh) and Radu Dragusin (ACL) are still waiting for their first minutes of the season, but the pair have taken part in friendlies behind closed doors and cannot be entirely ruled out of contention for Sunday's trip.

The same goes for Brennan Johnson - absent from the Slavia Prague win due to a knock - although Randal Kolo Muani may be at the head of the queue for promotion from the bench regardless.

As for Nottingham Forest, injury was added to insult against Everton when the long-serving Ryan Yates suffered a thigh injury, one that has ruled the midfielder out for the foreseeable future.

Yates has joined Ola Aina (thigh), Chris Wood (knee) and Angus Gunn (knee) in the Tricky Trees' medical bay, but Taiwo Awoniyi (unspecified) and first-choice goalkeeper Matz Sels (groin) may be back in contention.

The latter will be part of a plethora of changes if passed fit, alongside the much-coveted Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White, facing Spurs for the first time since the summer transfer soap opera.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Sels; Savona, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Ndoye; Jesus

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Gray; Kudus, Simons, Kolo Muani; Richarlison

We say: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

No Premier League team has over-performed their Expected Goals more than Tottenham this season - scoring 25 from an xG of 15 - and there is little chance of Frank's men being shut out on Sunday.

The visitors are also working with additional rest days compared to the hosts, but Garibaldi boss Dyche could afford to rotate on Thursday night, and Forest's newfound resilience could enable them to claim a well-earned point.

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