Kicking off our Gameweek 8 write-ups, we look back on another frustrating day for Nottingham Forest.
The Tricky Trees dominated large periods of their match against Ipswich Town but, having also merited more from recent games against Arsenal and Crystal Palace, they were again left feeling short-changed here.
GIBBS-WHITE DENIED AGAIN
Morgan Gibbs-White‘s (£7.9m) luckless run continued on Friday.
In previous weeks, it was the profligate finishing of teammates that mostly left him down. Here, while he did create his customary game-high number of chances (three), it was an opportunity of his own that left his Fantasy owners cursing their misfortune.
Doing well to stretch and connect with a Dan Ndoye (£5.5m) cross, his close-range shot bobbled towards goal – only for the toenails of Christian Walton (£4.4m) to take the pace out of the effort. Leif Davis (£4.0m) completed the job by hacking off the line, but it’s questionable whether the left-back would have got there without his goalkeeper’s intervention.
Brentford away isn’t going to be an easy test next week but Gibbs-White did, at least, deliver assists in both meetings with the Bees in 2025/26.
LACKING THE FINISHING TOUCH
Forest were dominant for large periods of this game, save for a brief spell in the first half. They might also feel aggrieved that they didn’t have a man advantage in the second half.
Ipswich didn’t have a single shot between their equaliser – which Forest gifted to Julio Enciso (£5.5m) – and second-half stoppage time, when Jack Clarke (£5.3m) nearly completed the smash and grab. A 25th-minute volley from Jaden Philogene (£5.4m) was the only time Matz Sels (£5.0m) was seriously tested.
At the other end, Ndoye and sub Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.7m) should have done better with shots from in and around the edge of the six-yard box. Ndoye’s effort was hacked away by a backpedalling Davis but the shot was going wide anyway.
Forest posed a big set-piece threat, too, with eight of their 17 attempts coming from free-kicks and corners. Murillo (£5.5m) and Jair Cunha (£4.4m) both had efforts saved before the former nodded the best of the dead-ball opportunities wide.
Then there’s the ongoing woes of Liam Delap (£5.5m). Curling narrowly off-target with one effort from distance, he nodded over from close range late on – and Gibbs-White (below, right) was mightily miffed that he didn’t knock the ball down for him instead:
Gibbs-White, as much as anyone else, needs Forest’s forwards to be back firing soon. All those chances created mean little if the strikers ahead of you are fluffing their lines. Delap’s 12-goal season in 2024/25, and Chris Wood‘s (£5.7m) proven record of hitting 10+ goals in a campaign, suggest there is hope to hold on to, but long periods spent either warming the bench or the physio’s table in 2025/26 have perhaps messed with their rhythm.
“Our last two away games at Palace and today, playing so well in the attack and also defending so well today, especially today, and then really having just one point. It feels completely strange but again it’s what we have to accept. The only way, and I don’t know other ways, is to keep believing in the players, supporting them so that they don’t lose the confidence.
“I was asked before the game about the finishing and then we do some finishing exercises in training, and we need new nets because the players score goal after the other. And this is what we will do: support them and keep going.” – Oliver Glasner
WILLIAMS SCORES – BUT PICKS UP INJURY
A typically successful feature of Glasner-ball is the advanced wing-back play.
And both wing-backs combined for attacking returns here, with Daniel Munoz (£5.3m) crossing for Neco Williams (£5.0m) to score.
Williams, alas, came a cropper late in the game, picking up an arm injury. Glasner didn’t sound too positive.
“It’s the elbow. So, let’s see. We have to do further assessments, but now it’s huge pain. It doesn’t look really well or really good. Yeah, let’s see.” – Oliver Glasner on Neco Williams
MIDFIELD SKIRMISH
On DefCon watch, it was all about the middle of the park.
All four central midfielders delivered, with James McAtee‘s (£5.5m) total of 22 contributions the most by a midfielder in a match this season.
Xaver Schlager (£5.0m) and McAtee now have eight and six DefCon points, respectively, in 2026/27. Kobbie Mainoo (£5.5m) is the only midfielder who can better Schlager’s tally.
Joining Schlager on eight DefCon points is the exquisitely named Exequiel Palacios (£5.0m). What makes the Ipswich midfielder’s achievement all the more commendable is that he’s only started five games. Looking at the ‘per 90’ stats, indeed, puts him in a very good light:
Above: Midfielders sorted by DefCons per 90 mins (minimum of one start)
Further forward, Enciso finally scored at the 23rd time of asking! 17 of those attempts have come from outside the area, including all four efforts here – even his one-on-one equaliser.
MATCH SUMMARY
- More Ipswich Town v Nottingham Forest stats and graphics are available in our Match Centre
