Two Nottingham Forest players are now the best in the Premier League for blocks and clearances

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Defensively Nottingham Forest have struggled all season during 2023/24 – but in Willy Boly and Murillo they have two defenders who do their job pretty well.

Some statistics have emerged this week from The Other 14 that have the two players sitting first and third on a list of statistics.

So, what is it that Boly and Murillo do extremely well defensively when they play for Forest? Let’s take a closer look…

Two Nottingham Forest defenders sit in top three in Premier League list

For Murillo, it’s been quite a ride during the 2023/24 campaign and he’s been ever-present in the Premier League since making his debut in October.

Boly has been a bit of a strange one again and he’s often battled injury problems – although he has made 16 appearances in all competitions.

The pair have now been named at one and three in the list of Premier League defenders when it comes to the number of blocks and clearances per 90 minutes.

Boly is top with 7.12 per game, making 14 blocks and 65 clearances from 999 minutes on the pitch.

Murillo is third with 6.88 per game, with the Brazilian making 18 blocks and 128 clearances during his 1909 minutes on the pitch.

These statistics from The Other 14 on X and given how soft Forest have sometimes looked defensively, it makes for a very surprising read.

Individual errors costing Forest dearly

This just goes to show that Forest do have the players – but far too many individual errors have robbed the team of points.

Forest have to get back to the nitty gritty of grinding out points and perhaps it’s time to pair Boly and Murillo up together again.

Boly hasn’t started a game since being sent off against Bournemouth and his aerial presence has been sorely missed.

Kelvin Wilson said yesterday that Boly should play for Forest on Saturday and in our view, that’s a brilliant shout.

The Reds can ill afford to lose to Luton on Saturday. Hopefully, some of the defensive resolution on show in these statistics can be evident at the weekend.