Nottingham Forest host Sunderland at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon in what is Ange Postecoglou’s first game in front of the home crowd, and the opposition manager has shared what he expects to happen.
The Australian is still chasing his first win, and against newly promoted opponents, it offers the perfect chance to do so.
However, it may not be as easy as it seems. The Black Cats have started the season well; in fact, after the opening five games, it is their second-best start to a Premier League season.
Sunderland have three more points than the Tricky Trees, and ahead of the game, Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris gave his thoughts on how tough he feels the fixture will be.
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Regis Le Bris admits Nottingham Forest will be ‘tough’ opponents
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has hailed Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest as a ‘dangerous threat’ ahead of Saturday afternoon’s match.
The French manager was speaking to the press ahead of the game and pinpointed what Sunderland must do to get a result.
Le Bris said, “What we know about them is they are a strong squad with many threats… wingers, strikers. A dangerous opponent – that’s obvious. We won’t have gifts from them so we have to play our best football.”
The Black Cats boss also gave his verdict on Postecoglou’s style of play and admits he has been impressed, saying, “He’ll need time but he’s a very proactive, offensive coach. With the players he has in this squad, he can use many different options. They are very impressive in the final third – it’ll be tough.”
Sunderland are a defensively resolute side, conceding just four goals in five matches and keeping two clean sheets.
The Tricky Trees will need to be at their very best in attack in order to break them down, but Postecoglou has plenty of choices.
Ange Postecoglou has a lot of options vs Sunderland
Postecoglou faces a major selection dilemma ahead of Saturday afternoon.
The 60-year-old has multiple players that are vying for a spot in the starting XI. Igor Jesus impressed in Europe and one Forest midfielder was hailed as ‘perfect’.
However, with Chris Wood not getting any minutes against Real Betis, Postecoglou may opt to use the New Zealander’s fresh legs against Sunderland.
Either way, predicting Nottingham Forest’s starting XI vs Sunderland will no doubt be a challenging task, and that is a wonderful problem to have right now.
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