Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham: Key Injuries and Match Preview

Nottingham Forest head into Saturday’s clash with Tottenham with the wind at their backs and the medical room finally easing, while Spurs arrive at the City Ground bruised, short-handed and still searching for a first goal of the season.

The contrast is stark. Forest welcome Ibrahim Sangaré back into midfield and are ready to unleash Daniel Muñoz for the first time. Tottenham, by comparison, travel without James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons, their attacking plans stripped of some of the club’s sharpest tools.

All of it drops into a fixture already loaded with history. Forest have beaten Spurs in each of the last four Premier League meetings. One more, and they set a club record in this contest.

Glasner Gets His Midfield General – and a Familiar Face

Oliver Glasner could hardly have asked for a better bulletin. Sangaré, who missed the 2-2 draw at Liverpool with a minor calf problem picked up in training, is fit again and ready to step back into the centre of the pitch. His return restores Forest’s power and presence in midfield, exactly the sort of weapon managers crave in games where small margins decide everything.

The bigger intrigue, though, surrounds Muñoz.

Signed from Crystal Palace on August 31, the Colombian defender is available for his first Forest appearance. He underwent nose surgery after the 2026 World Cup but has been cleared to play with a protective mask. The caveat is fitness: a shortened pre-season means he still has work to do physically, yet Glasner has confirmed he is in contention.

There is trust there already. The pair know each other well from their time together at Crystal Palace, where they stacked up silverware: the 2025 FA Cup, the Community Shield and the UEFA Conference League. Muñoz’s influence in that run was anything but peripheral. He set up the winning goal against Manchester City in the FA Cup final and walked away with man-of-the-match honours.

Forest will be tempted to lean on that big-game pedigree straight away.

Not every update is rosy for Glasner. Nicolo Savona remains out, still edging his way back from the knee injury he suffered in January. The Italian wing-back has returned to partial training, a small step forward, but he will not feature against Tottenham. The hope inside the club is that he rejoins full training around the international break, but this weekend comes too soon.

De Zerbi’s Spurs Still Short in Key Areas

On the away bench, Roberto De Zerbi faces a very different medical picture.

Maddison has rejoined training after fracturing his shoulder, a vital creative outlet finally back on the grass. Yet the City Ground will not see him. De Zerbi has ruled him out of the trip, unwilling to take risks with the midfielder’s recovery.

Kulusevski is in a similar limbo. The Swede has returned to full team training following a serious kneecap injury that kept him out for more than a year, but Tottenham are holding the line. After such a long layoff, they will not rush him back into a Premier League battle just to plug a short-term gap.

Odobert and Simons also remain sidelined, both still working their way back from knee injuries. The result is a Tottenham squad that feels light in exactly the areas where they most need inspiration.

And the timing could hardly be worse.

Spurs have opened their league campaign with a 3-0 defeat to Brentford and a 2-0 loss to Newcastle. No goals scored, no points on the board, and questions already circling about how quickly De Zerbi can imprint his attacking ideas with so many of his key forwards missing.

The numbers carry a sting. Tottenham have not started a league season with two defeats and no goals since 1974-75. They have only once in their history failed to score in each of their first three league fixtures. One more blank and this side joins a very unwanted chapter of the club’s record book.

A Glimmer for Spurs: Sávio Returns, New Faces Ready

Amid the setbacks, De Zerbi does have one significant lift. Sávio is fit again after missing the Newcastle defeat with muscle fatigue and is available for the trip to Nottingham. His return injects pace and directness into an attack that has looked blunt and predictable across the first two games.

New signings Omar Marmoush and Mathys Tel are also in the frame, both ready to be used as Spurs hunt that elusive first Premier League goal of the season. De Zerbi suddenly has fresh legs and different profiles to throw at the problem, even if the headline names remain in the treatment room.

One notable absentee will not be explained by injury. Richarlison has been left out of Tottenham’s registered Premier League squad. The Brazilian forward is training separately as the club works on his departure, with moves to Saudi Arabia or Turkey among the options before their transfer windows close. For now, he is out of the picture and out of the plans.

History Beckons at the City Ground

All of this swirls around a fixture already leaning Forest’s way. They have beaten Spurs in each of their last four Premier League meetings, including victories in December 2025 and March 2026. Those results have flipped the dynamic of a matchup that once routinely favoured the London club.

Now Forest stand on the brink of something new. They have never won five straight league games against Tottenham. With Sangaré back, Muñoz ready to step in under a manager who knows exactly how to use him, and a home crowd sensing vulnerability in the visitors, the opportunity is clear.

Tottenham arrive battered, short of rhythm and missing their main creators, yet still carrying enough talent to punish any complacency. Forest stand one result away from rewriting the story of this fixture.

Which side bends the history books on Saturday?