With the second international break of 2022/23 now upon us, Nottingham Forest can take some positives into the World Cup.
The Reds climbed off the bottom of the Premier League on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at the City Ground.
Now, Forest have several weeks to reflect before their first game back away at Manchester United on 27th December.
With the World Cup upon us, we’ve decided to take an updated look at the ‘Power Rankings’ we produced at the last international break.
We will assess these at the next international break to see who is rising and who is falling.
Nottingham Forest Power Rankings
1. Serge Aurier (New Entry)
Straight in at number one is the former Tottenham Hotspur man.
Since the last international break, he’s made seven appearances and has been largely impressive in each game.
The Ivorian shows real quality whenever he’s called upon and he’s Top of the Pops from a Forest perspective right now.
2. Morgan Gibbs-White (+5)
The club’s record signing has really started to get up to full speed now.
He’s scored in the final two Premier League games prior to the World Cup and his work rate is phenomenal.
Gibbs-White did cost a lot of money but he’s buying into the Forest ethos just nicely right now.
3. Dean Henderson (-1)
Henderson has dropped a place purely based on the form of Aurier and Gibbs-White.
The on-loan goalkeeper remains an integral part of Steve Cooper’s team and his performance against Liverpool was breathtaking.
His save from Virgil van Dijk in injury time was truly sensational and if he improves his distribution, he will one day become a top-class stopper.
4. Ryan Yates (New Entry)
Yates wasn’t included in our last power rankings as he was struggling to prove himself as a Premier League player.
His form since the defeat to Fulham, however, has been sensational and he’s once again silencing his critics.
Yates has been captaining the side in Joe Worrall’s absence and he’s starting to show that he belongs in the Premier League.
5. Cheikhou Kouyate (New Entry)
Another man who checked in on a free transfer in the summer against a backdrop of criticism.
Many fans who seem hellbent on going against the hierarchy thought Kouyate was a signing made for the sake of it.
Kouyate has been brilliant though and his Premier League experience has been vital to the Reds.
6. Remo Freuler (New Entry)
Slowly but surely the Switzerland international is proving why he was a regular in the Atalanta team.
He shoots into sixth place on this list for his performances prior to the World Cup break.
Freuler was outstanding against Palace on Saturday and he completely stifled the threat of a strong Eagles midfield
7. Scott McKenna (New Entry)
McKenna missed a league game for the first time this season on Saturday as he struggled with a minor knock.
His form in the second part of the first half of the campaign has been a lot better though and he’s looked much more like his usual self.
McKenna still has some learning to do at this level but he’s certainly on the right track.
8. Lewis O’Brien (-7)
The top man from the last Power Rankings rundown has dropped but purely due to his lack of game time.
O’Brien has found himself out of the team but when he has come on from the bench he’s been typically determined.
The youngster started against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and he was superb during that contest.
9. Brennan Johnson (-1)
Down one for Forest’s academy graduate who is still finding his feet in the Premier League.
Johnson was lively against Palace last time out and Forest need to see more of that performance level as the season progresses.
The 21-year-old has time on his side and he should kick on after the World Cup.
10. Jesse Lingard (New Entry)
The man who certain media outlets simply love to hate.
Lingard has worked himself into the ground recently to try and prove himself to just about everyone.
The 29-year-old is often misunderstood and his last few Forest performances have been excellent.
