Nottingham Forest team news confirmed for Luton Town FA Cup tie as Nuno shows his hand
by Sarah Clapson · NottinghamshireLiveGoalkeeper Carlos Miguel will make his second Nottingham Forest appearance when he is named in the FA Cup starting XI against Luton Town.
Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has confirmed the summer signing will start between the posts when the Reds host the Hatters on Saturday (3pm kick-off) in the third round of the FA Cup. Regular No 1 Matz Sels will be given a rest as Nuno rings the changes to his line-up at the City Ground.
The Portuguese is keen to use the tie to give players who have been struggling for minutes some much-needed game time. For Miguel, it will be his second run-out after he made his debut against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup back in August.
The Brazilian did well on that occasion, despite conceding with less than a minute on the clock. Forest ultimately lost 4-3 on penalties after it had finished 1-1 between the two teams, and Miguel has had to be patient since then.
“He will start the game. He did well against Newcastle and had bad luck to go out on penalties. Today, we practised penalties,” Nuno said in his pre-match press conference.
“He is going to start the game. It is a reward for him. We wish we could have continued in the Carabao Cup because it would have meant Carlos had more games.
“We hope we can continue in the FA Cup and Carlos does it. If we go all the way, he will go all the way to the final - I hope!”
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On his plan to name a much-changed line-up against Luton, Nuno said: “We are ready to play against Luton. Of course we are going to make changes because every player deserves to start a game.
“We demand a lot from them and we see them work. It is a good chance for our players to play and enjoy themselves, and do their job properly.
“It’s a reward, if I make myself clear, because the players are working very hard. If we could, we would play them every game but it’s not possible. The FA Cup and particularly this game at home, they deserve to play. There’s a lot of players in our squad who didn’t have enough minutes they are working for and they deserve so much. It’s a good moment.”