A look at important clash between in-form Wolverhampton, Nottingham Forest

Wolves welcome Nottingham Forest to Molineux having taken seven points from their last three Premier League outings, as new boss Vitor Pereira begins to assert his influence on the relegation-threatened outfit. After impressively beating Manchester United in their last home fixture, the Wanderers will be hoping to secure another victory before tough trips to face Newcastle United and Chelsea.

Suspensions, scorers and sidelined stars

Thanks to his involvement in a post-match fracas following Wolves’ disappointing defeat to Ipswich Town – a loss that ultimately ended Gary O’Neil’s tenure as manager – Matheus Cunha starts a two-game ban. Wolves will hope Hwang Hee-chan can continue his recent goal scoring push in Cunha’s absence, with the South Korean forward full of confidence after netting against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Wolverhampton can also call upon Jorgen Strand Larsen, who has looked sharp in recent weeks.

Pereira is confident of restoring Andre to his starting line-up, after the Brazilian international missed his side’s 2-2 draw with Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs. However, fellow midfielder Mario Lemina remains on a busy injury list, alongside Toti Gomes, Yerson Mosquera, Boubacar Traore, Enso Gonzalez and Sasa Kalajdzic.

Forest at full strength 

Having won all of their previous five Premier League fixtures – in a sequence which includes notable victories over Manchester United, Brentford and Everton – Forest are red hot favorites against Wolves. A victory would see the Garibaldi move within six points of leaders Liverpool, ahead of next Tuesday’s meeting between the pair.

Nuno Espirito Santo has pretty much a full complement to choose from, with several players returning after missing out on Forest’s 2-0 win over Everton. Brazilian defender Murillo and former Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi were both injured for the meeting, while tenacious midfielder Ryan Yates served a one-match suspension.

Despite growing transfer speculation linking the talented Nigerian with a move away from the City Ground, highly-rated full-back Ola Aina is likely to make his 20^th league start of the season.

What can we expect?

It usually proves to be an intriguing encounter when two in-form sides go head-to-head. While Wolves have enjoyed a recent renaissance under their newly-installed Portuguese coach, it’s unlikely they’ll have enough to contain a rampant Nottingham Forest.

With Wanderers top scorer Cunha out and Chris Woods enjoying his best season in front of goal, the match could be settled in the forward areas. Forest seem likely to take all three points and puncture their opponents’ current momentum. An entertaining contest awaits.