Nottingham Forest brace for Tottenham clash as NINE stars rested in Europa League | OneFootball

Vitor Pereira has made his priorities clear ahead of relegation six-pointer

Forest visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend for a relegation six-pointer which will pit the team 16th in the Premier League against 17th.

Spurs come into the tie ravaged by injuries, but Forest are expected to be at full-bore as they target a first league win since January, which could lift them as many as three points clear of the drop zone.

Forest visit Midtjylland in the Europa League round of 16 second-leg on Thursday and trail 1-0 after a poor performance in the reverse fixture.

Pereira, though, has named a heavily rotated side for the match as he appears to be prioritising the relegation battle - he has made nine changes to the side which was drew with Fulham at the weekend.

Among those left out of the starting XI are Matz Sels, Neco Williams, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White. Also named to the bench in Denmark are striker Igor Jesus, Murillo, Ibrahim Sangare, and Ola Aina.

Nicola Milenkovic, Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee all start, though, as do Dan Ndoye and Ryan Yates.

“I have a responsibility,” Pereira told TNT Sport. “It is crucial for the club to keep their position in the Premier League. I did what I must do, you understand?”

He continued, saying he was confident his much-rotated team could turn Midtjylland over.

“In three days we have an important game, and today is European game. We have ambition, we will compete for the result. We have the quality to win this game, I believe in my players.

“Today, for sure, we will try to play our best level and I have players on the bench who can add quality on the pitch. Today’s a chance that a lot of players deserve.”

Tottenham, meanwhile, are expected to be without a swathe of first-team players, with Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur and Wilson Odobert among those sidelined.