Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santois keeping his fingers crossed that Murillo and Ryan Yates will both be available for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The former had to be substituted midway through the second half of last weekend’s 2-1 comeback win over Aston Villa, while Yates was seen moving gingerly after the final whistle.

Santo expressed hope that the pair had only picked up knocks, though, and with no EFL Cup game to manage in midweek, they seemingly have strong chances of being fit for the clash with the Bees.

As a result, Ibrahim Sangare (thigh) and Danilo (ankle) should be the only two missing players for Forest, who will welcome Alex Moreno back to the ranks after the left-back was ineligible to face his parent team last weekend.

Moreno’s return after a fortnight’s rest should see the Spaniard displace Neco Williams at left-back, but Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic and Matz Sels will no doubt reprise their rearguard roles.

Elliot Anderson put in a man-of-the-match performance during the visit of Villa and is also expected to keep his spot in midfield alongside Yates, although Nicolas Dominguez could fill in for the latter if need be.

 

However, if Yates is able to contribute, Dominguez’s spot could be in danger, as Anthony Elanga has made the best possible case to rejoin Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood up front thanks to his late winner versus Villa.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood