Chris Wood will be licking his lips after Newcastle United injury update ahead of Nottingham Forest clash

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Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood already has a history of scoring goals away from home against Newcastle United, with the latest injury news from Tyneside making the job even easier.

Eddie Howe thinks Wood has been outstanding this season so the Newcastle boss will be well aware of the damage the Kiwi could cause on Sunday, needing his defenders on top form to keep the 18-goal striker at bay.

It’s easier said than done, though, as even as Forest were beaten by Fulham last Saturday, Fulham manager Marco Silva hailed Wood’s performance in the defeat which highlighted the fear that the striker can strike even in teams that handle the rest of the Forest squad.

Remarkably, Wood’s outstanding season has still left some feeling that he remains underappreciated amongst some football circles, with Robert Earnshaw labelling Wood underrated in January even after his goalscoring exploits have become impossible to ignore.

Therefore, Howe will be bracing himself for what Wood brings to the table on Sunday but his task has been made significantly simpler with the latest injury news from St James’ Park.

Eddie Howe delivers difficult update on Sven Botman’s fitness

No team can be at their full strength without their starting defensive options, evidenced recently when seeing the relief when Murillo was spotted moving freely after an injury scare against Brighton.

Newcastle have been less lucky with the fitness of their star centre-back, Sven Botman, who picked up a knock and has missed their last two matches.

It seems he won’t be fit for the visit of Forest either, with Howe delivering an update on the Dutchman’s fitness in his pre-match press conference.

Howe said: “I don’t think he [Botman] will be available for this weekend, we will have to see how things stand, he is making progress, good progress, he is very much on track but not quite there yet.”

Whilst injuries to opposition players are never something to celebrate Botman’s absence will certainly make the task an easier one on Sunday as Nuno Espirito Santo will look to exploit the absence of the commanding defender.

Wood will clearly benefit from the news the most, especially given how much the Newcastle defence has suffered in the absence of Botman in recent games.

Newcastle have leaked goals in Sven Botman’s absence

Botman has missed two games due to his knock, an FA Cup clash with League One Birmingham City and the humiliating 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League.

Conceding twice in the eventual victory over Birmingham will have concerned Howe, but the defensive display against City in the league has given Forest and Wood the blueprint as to how to hurt Newcastle in Botman’s absence.

City had 11 shots in the match which is not necessarily disastrous for Newcastle, but giving up 24 touches in their box certainly was.

Wood has the league’s best shot conversion rate so if Forest can carve out as many touches in the box as City did, the Kiwi should have enough opportunities to score.

Another area that the Forest coaching staff could look to exploit for Wood is in the aerial battles as Newcastle’s makeshift defence only won 38% of their duels against the Premier League champions, who adapted to this and began playing more and more long balls.

If Wood is able to dominate aerially as well as Erling Haaland, Forest should find it relatively simple to advance up the pitch and into dangerous areas for their star striker to add the finishing touches, something that wouldn’t have been as easy if Botman was fit.