Nottingham Forest have another chance at domestic success as they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the quarter-final of the League Cup.
After crashing out of the FA Cup in a 4-1 defeat to Blackpool, the Reds will be looking to improve and progress to the semi-final of the Carabao Cup.
Since Steve Cooper took over at the club on September 21 2021, Forest have been on a rollercoaster ride in their rise to success.
Gaining promotion to the Premier League and beating Arsenal in last year’s FA Cup along the way has proved the Reds are more than capable of getting the results they need.
Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves will also be up for the occasion after earning a replay against Liverpool in the FA Cup last Saturday, with the Spaniard frustrated with the VAR ruling of offside in the build-up to Toti Gomes’ goal in the 82nd minute of the game.
Wolves last won the League Cup in a Final clash with Forest in 1980, while the Tricky Trees have not won the competition since 1990 when Brian Clough was in charge.
Both sides hold injuries within their squads as Jesse Lingard, Cheikhou Kouyate, Omar Richards, Giulian Biancone, Omar Richards and Moussa Niakhate are all unfit to play for Forest.
As for Wolves, Sasa Kalajdzic, Chiquinho, Boubacar Traore and Pedro Neto are all expected to miss out on the tie.
Steve Cooper looks ahead to tonight's last eight clash against @Wolves at The City Ground. 🎙
Hear more from our Head Coach on Forest TV. 👇
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) January 11, 2023
Steve Cooper’s side interestingly lead the goal tally charts in this season’s League Cup with a total of nine goals, while Wolves have taken a more sedate path, managing to score five so far in their run.
With shaky patches in the Premier League this season for both quarter-finalists, neither team’s safety is guaranteed so a shot at domestic success is a massive deal.
In last year’s competition, Forest were humbled by a 4-0 defeat against Wolves so will be looking to stop the visitors from repeating history.
Morgan Gibbs-White was on the scoresheet for Wolves in that fixture but will be pulling on a red shirt this time after Forest splashed out £42.5m in the summer to bring him to the City Ground.
The Tricky Trees have won three of their last five fixtures with an impressive six-game unbeaten run at home.
Wolves have also managed three wins in five in all competitions, but hold a strong away record.
The game kicks off at 7:45pm on Wednesday January 11 at the City Ground as both Midlands sides battle for a place in the semi-finals.
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