WED 25 Jan 2023EFL Cup – Semi-finals – 1st Leg Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United
Venue: The City Ground, England
Nottingham Forest “should go for it” in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester United, according to former Brighton striker Glenn Murray.
It is Forest’s first domestic cup semi-final since 1992 but Murray believes they have enough in their arsenal to trouble Erik ten Hag’s favourites.
“I think they have got to take risks,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast. “I’d much rather go to United holding something rather than having to get something.
“I’ve also seen how that Forest crowd can really light up the City Ground. Manchester United are susceptible and can be undone, so I think they should go for it.”
Ex-England keeper Robert Green sounded a note of caution, recognising the specific dangers of a two-legged semi-final.
“The temptation will be to go for it as they will know how hard it will be at Old Trafford,” he said. “They have had good results at Forest this season against big teams and they are looking up.
“However, they have to get the balance right for 180 minutes.”
“It’s confidential about talks between clubs and players,” Ten Hag said. “I think he understands Man United is his club. That’s first.
“But also, in this environment, in this team, he’s playing his best football. He’s improving and that’s about him because he’s working on the good things. He’s giving 100% energy in it, has a good plan and in this team he can bring in his qualities.
“So, this team can help him get in the right position and to score goals, where he is good at. This team is constructed like this that his qualities come in from and he knows that but definitely, he’s important for us. If we want to get the success we want, we need him.
“This is the best place to be because we want to construct the best team, first of England, then in Europe, then in the world.”
Tristan Lomas: Really fancy the Forest line up tonight, extremely attacking with Danilo and Scarpa in as well as the usual attacking three
Brian: Seeing Nottingham Forest in a League Cup semi-final doesn’t half fill me with nostalgia. Images of Clough, Shilton, Gemmill et al parading the cup around Wembley (and Old Trafford). Great to see them back doing well.
- Jesse Lingard injured his hamstring in Nottingham Forest’s Premier League defeat to Manchester United on 27 December.
- He only returned to the Forest bench on Saturday, when he didn’t get on at Bournemouth.
- Lingard will hope to make his re-appearance at some point against his former club tonight.
