As Nottingham Forest approaches the Premier League season, talk will inevitably turn to who should start against Bournemouth.
The Cherries have defeated Forest 3-2 at the City Ground in each of the two Premier League seasons that the team has participated in since promotion.
The Reds intend to end this season amicably, stay out of the spotlight off the field, and avoid getting drawn into a relegation struggle.
The preseason is proceeding smoothly, and Forest will play Villarreal in a friendly at the City Ground this Friday night.
Lewis McGugan is now being questioned about the players he believes would make up the ideal midfield lineup for his team in the season’s opening game.
Lewis McGugan makes his Forest midfield selection for the Bournemouth game based on his assessment of “those two.”
On opening day, Lewis McGugan selects the Forest midfield to take on Bournemouth.
Throughout his career, McGugan has had a lot of successful preseason campaigns. These days, he frequently attends games from Trentside.
He’s been asked what his ideal midfield would be if the season opened tomorrow, having played the position in the past.
This week, he was a guest on the Forest Focus podcast, where he listed the three midfield players he believes Bournemouth should start against.
“Danilo seems like he’s in a really good frame of mind this pre-season and he looks really fit,” McGugan stated.
“If you look at those two, I believe Sangare and his preseason play have received nothing but positive evaluations.
“I believe that we need to start altering our mindset. We must attack teams head-on and take the initiative.
We discuss how the midfield, specifically those two with Morgan Gibbs-White, is effectively going to become a three.
“You would then have Danilo, who could team up with Gibbs-White in that number 10 role, and Sangare as the defensive player.”
Ibrahim Sangare might succeed following the entire preseason
It’s interesting to observe that McGugan chose Sangare for his squad and that he obviously heard from someone in the camp that Sangare is training well.
Despite his unfortunate injury history from the previous season, Forest does need to see more from the £30 million player this year.
Sangare might experience a significant redemption story and, ideally, get the chance to expose his true colors to the public.
The inclusion of Gibbs-White is also noteworthy, and Forest may benefit from having a more flexible midfield, especially at home.
Last season, the player who frequently served as the team’s captain moved into center midfield, and it seemed to have an effect.
It appears that Gibbs-White needs a strong team to support him, and Sangare’s defensive tenacity and Danilo’s adaptability would be ideal.
