Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham: Injury Updates and History
Nottingham Forest head into Saturday’s clash with Tottenham with the wind at their backs and the medical room finally easing, while Spurs arrive bruised, short-handed and still searching for their first goal of the season.
The contrast could hardly be sharper.
Oliver Glasner welcomes Ibrahim Sangaré back from a minor calf problem and has new signing Daniel Muñoz cleared for his debut. Roberto De Zerbi, by comparison, travels without James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons, and carries the weight of Tottenham’s worst start in decades.
Forest have won the last four league meetings between the sides. One more, and they make club history.
Glasner Gets His Midfield Enforcer Back
This is the kind of injury bulletin managers like.
Sangaré, who missed the 2-2 draw at Liverpool after tweaking his calf in training, is fit again and ready to step back into Forest’s midfield. His presence restores the steel and structure that Glasner leans on when games tighten and the tempo spikes.
Then there is Muñoz. Signed from Crystal Palace on August 31, the Colombian defender is finally available for his first Forest appearance. He underwent nose surgery after the 2026 World Cup and will play in a protective mask, but the green light has been given. The only caveat is conditioning: a short pre-season means he still has work to do to reach full sharpness.
What he lacks in minutes, he makes up for in trust. Glasner knows exactly what he is getting. The pair’s time together at Palace delivered the 2025 FA Cup, the Community Shield and the UEFA Conference League. Muñoz set up the winning goal against Manchester City in that FA Cup final and walked away with the man-of-the-match award. Those memories matter when a manager weighs risk against reward.
Not every update is positive. Nicolo Savona remains out. The Italian wing-back, sidelined since a knee injury in January, has only just returned to partial training. Forest will not see him against Tottenham, with Glasner targeting a return to full training around the international break.
Even so, the balance of the week’s news leans heavily in Forest’s favour. The squad looks stronger, the options deeper, and the mood at the City Ground reflects it.
De Zerbi Deprived of Maddison as Spurs Chase First Goal
For Tottenham, the story is very different.
Maddison is back on the grass after fracturing his shoulder, but not back in the team. De Zerbi has ruled him out of the trip to the City Ground, removing Spurs’ main creative hub at a time when they have yet to score a league goal.
Kulusevski will also watch from the sidelines. The Swede has rejoined full team training after more than a year out with a serious kneecap injury, but Tottenham are refusing to gamble. After such a long lay-off, they will not accelerate his return just to plug an early-season crisis.
Odobert and Simons remain absent as they continue their rehabilitation from knee problems. Those four names strip away a huge chunk of Tottenham’s attacking craft and variety.
The timing could hardly be worse. Spurs opened their campaign with a 3-0 defeat at Brentford and a 2-0 loss at home to Newcastle. Two games, two defeats, no goals, no points.
The numbers carry a sting. Tottenham have not started a league season with two losses and no goals since 1974-75. They have only once gone three league fixtures at the start of a campaign without scoring. That is the wall De Zerbi’s side now stares at.
A Glimmer for Spurs: Sávio Back, New Forwards Ready
Amid the gloom, one shaft of light.
Sávio has shaken off the muscle fatigue that kept him out of the Newcastle defeat and is available again. His return injects pace and directness into a forward line that has looked blunt and predictable over the first two games.
New attacking signings Omar Marmoush and Mathys Tel are also in contention. De Zerbi suddenly has fresh legs and different profiles to throw at the problem as Tottenham hunt that elusive first Premier League goal of the season.
One notable name will not be involved at all. Richarlison has been left out of Spurs’ registered Premier League squad and is training separately while the club works on his departure. Saudi Arabia and Turkey are among the potential destinations before their transfer windows close. For all practical purposes, Tottenham are already moving on.
History on the Line at the City Ground
Forest’s recent dominance in this fixture adds another layer to Saturday’s meeting. They have beaten Tottenham in each of the last four Premier League clashes, including wins in December 2025 and March 2026.
They have never made it five in a row.
With Sangaré back, Muñoz ready for a masked debut, and a Spurs side arriving wounded, goalless and stripped of key creators, the City Ground senses an opportunity.
If Forest seize it, this will not just be another early-season win. It will be a new chapter in the story between these two clubs—and a deeper question for Tottenham about where this campaign is really heading.
