Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche could be without as many as six first-team players for their relegation six pointer against Leeds United on Friday.
Four wins for safety, says Farke
Leeds boss Daniel Farke believes 12 more points from his side’s remaining 14 games will be enough to guarantee them Premier League survival.
“I don’t have the feeling during this transfer window that we are weaker, so I’m confident with this group that we can achieve our goals. We need one point average (from 38 games) to stay in this league, so we need 12 points to have this average.
“This means three wins and three draws, whatever – six positive results from the last 14 games. The last 12 games we’ve played, we had 10 positive results. I would back my players to get six positive results. I want all 14 to be positive, but I’m confident we are capable to win enough to stay in this league.”
Farke’s side will be without German midfielder Anton Stach, who will be sidelined for a fortnight with a hip problem, but defender James Justin (toe) is available after his withdrawal in last week’s defeat to Arsenal.
Central defender Jaka Bijol could also return to contention after missing the last three games due to a hamstring injury, while striker Lukas Nmecha (hamstring) remains doubtful.
Forest hit with injury crisis for trip to Leeds
Chris Wood (knee), John Victor (knee), Nicolo Savona (knee) and Nico Williams (suspended) are all confirmed absentees for Forest on Friday, and Dyche revealed in his pre-match press conference there are two more doubts as well.
Both Matz Sels and Callum Hudson-Odoi face last-minute fitness checks ahead of the trip to Elland Road.
“The key is in performances, we have seen the ups and downs of it since I have been at the club,” Dyche said.
“The ups, we have been very strong, and then when the downs are downs that’s when you learn about your players. Overall there has been progress. But it’s a results business so we have got to keep getting results. Every game is key, they are all big games. Every game should be that.
“It’s another important game. It’s tough going up there, I have been many times, they have steadied the ship because early season there was a lot of noise about the manager (Daniel Farke) and ‘Can they or can’t they?’, but they have steadied it down with a lot of good performances.”
|
Forest top earners – click for full list |
Gross pay per week |
|---|---|
|
Morgan Gibbs-White |
£110,000 |
|
Nikola Milenkovic |
£105,000 |
|
Chris Wood |
£90,000 |
|
Callum Hudson-Odoi |
£90,000 |
|
Dan Ndoye |
£85,000 |
|
Ibrahim Sangare |
£75,000 |
|
Murillo |
£75,000 |
|
Dilane Bakwa |
£70,000 |
