Nottingham Forest star could exploit Southampton's weaknesses under Ivan Juric | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina has previously played under Ivan Juric at Torino. Being familiar with the Croatian's playstyle, Aina could prove decisive against Southampton.

Southampton boss Ivan Juric faces a big selection dilemma, today. The biggest challenge for the manager is to find a good replacement for Tyler Dibling in the starting lineup.

Solidifying the defence is also important but not as much as strengthening the attack.

With limited options available, having scored the least times this season, Southampton's problems might aggravate against a quality Nottingham Forest team.

But, there is another worry for boss Ivan Juric ahead of today's game.

Nottingham Forest star could exploit Southampton's weaknesses under Ivan Juric

This is because Juric will meet a familiar face against Nottingham Forest. Forest defender Ola Aina knows Juric from his time together at Torino.

In football, many players and coaches cross paths later, in some way or the other. Some of them get reunited at a different club again while others line up against each other.

Talking about the latter, knowing a former player or coach gives a tactical advantage to the team.

Unfortunately, this advantage could be used to exploit Southampton's weaknesses. Recently, Nottingham Forest boss Nuno mentioned this key factor in his pre-match press conference.

As quoted by the Daily Echo, Nuno said: "We've been analysing since Juric joined. We have information also because Ola (Aina) had a chance to work with him (at Torino). He's passing some information."

Strategically, Ola Aina's full-back role keeps him in constant touch with the sidelines. Utilizing it, he can convey Ivan Juric's potential moves or substitutions with boss Nuno much more comfortably.

Days ago, Southampton's poor substitutions had cost them points against Manchester United. Referring to that, Nottingham Forest might come better prepared against Southampton.

But as they say, the game is won on the pitch and not just on paper. There still remains a lot for the Saints to play despite Aina's past knowledge about Ivan Juric.

Whatever be the result, it would be interesting to see the contest between master Ivan Juric and his former apprentice Ola Aina, with both hoping to outsmart each other.