Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa’s performance will haunt Nottingham Forest and the City Ground faithful after an incredible display to blank the Tricky Trees in a 0-0 draw between Premier League strugglers.
WATCH — Nottingham Forest v Wolves full match replay
Sa made 10 saves as Forest rattled off 35 shot attempts but could not find a way past the 20th-place Wolves.
The point is Wolves’ ninth, 16 behind 17th-place Nottingham Forest. Sean Dyche’s Tricky Trees inch up a point, three clear of West Ham United.
A points-split right out of Bizarro World
Sean Dyche set the stage for this odd day as the noted pragmatist rolled out a very dangerous attacking unit, a group that delivered punch after punch but ran into red-hot goalkeeper in Jose Sa. And while Nottingham Forest getting blanked may not be the biggest surprise around, the clean sheet coming via visiting Wolves qualifies as a bonafide stunner. Wolves have just three clean sheets this season and none away from home, where Vitor Pereira and Rob Edwards have combined to oversee 13 matches with zero wins. The cherry on top may be the identity of the game’s biggest shooters and their totals, as fullback Neco Williams and center mid Elliot Anderson dialed up seven shots each.
What’s next?
Wolves go to Grimsby Town on Sunday in the FA Cup, then host Arsenal on Wednesday in the Premier League.
Nottingham Forest vs Wolves final score: 0-0
Nottingham Forest vs Wolves as it happened — by Nick Mendola
Putting the Sa in saves
In hockey terms, Forest are getting goalied.
Jose Sa has 10 saves and Forest have not found a goal despite 2.62 xG on a remarkable 31 shot attempts.
Wolves subs
A Gomes (Rodrigo) and a Bueno (Hugo) exit for Jackson Tchatchoua and David Moller Wolfe in the 60th minute for Wolves, who have been better.
Halftime — Nottingham Forest 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Dyche will be wondering what it will take to get on the scoreboard.
Sa made six saves in the first half, while four Forest players have 3-plus shot attempts (Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson Odoi, and Neco Williams).
Lorenzo Lucca’s come the closest to scoring and the gigantic forward is impressing early in his Forest tenure.
ALL Forest
Dyche’s attack-first lineup has 14 attempts to Wolves’ one and there have been some good, good looks from the Tricky Trees,
Lucca, Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, and Anderson make for an attacking unit, and Neco Williams and Ola Aina are no shrinking violets at fullback.
Jose Sa makes an early stop
Morgan Gibbs-White is not a favorite around his former club and he tries to underline that status by firing an early attempt that is well-saved by Jose Sa.
Nottingham Forest lineup
Ortega, Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Hutchinson, Lucca
Wolverhampton Wanderers lineup
Sa, R. Gomez, S. Bueno, Krejic, Mosquera, H. Bueno, J. Gomes, A. Gomes, Mane, Armstrong, Arokodare
Nottingham Forest vs Wolves preview — by Joe Prince-Wright
Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest simply have to beat bottom club Wolves on Wednesday to give themselves a little bit of breathing space above the relegation zone.
Forest lost 3-1 at relegation rivals Leeds on Friday and given West Ham’s win at Burnley on Saturday, all of a sudden they are just three points above the bottom three. Forest are going well in the Europa League but staying in the Premier League is Dyche’s main aim and they just have to beat Wolves. If they do they then drag Spurs into the relegation scrap too.
Rob Edwards’ side sit on eight points and are 18 points behind Forest, and safety, ahead of this game. They lost 3-1 at home to Chelsea on Saturday as they gave away two penalty kicks in the first half and were their own worst enemies once again. Wolves never give up but they’re making too many big mistakes.
Nottingham Forest team news, focus
John Victor, Chris Wood and Nicolo Savona remain out injured, while Murillo and Matz Sels are struggling with injury. New signing Stefan Ortega will continue in goal, while Dyche has a lot of options in attack and another new signing, Lorenzo Lucca, scored at Leeds and could get the nod up top.
Wolves team news, focus
New signings Adam Armstrong and Angel Gomes gave Wolves a boost at the weekend and the duo of Tolu Arokodare and Matheus Mane have been buzzing around in attack. Center back Toti Gomes is out injured, while midfielder Andre is a doubt and South Korean star Hwang Hee-chan is out with a calf issue.
Nottingham Forest vs Wolves prediction
This feels like a comfortable home win for Forest as they will seize the opportunity to ease some pressure on themselves. Nottingham Forest 3-1 Wolves.
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Wolves live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 2:30pm ET Wednesday (February 11)
Venue: City Ground — Nottingham
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
