Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo on facing Man City in FA Cup semi-final and his side’s latest injury news | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo says he will feel “honoured and proud” to manage the club in the FA Cup semi-final for the first time since legendary manager Brian Clough did so in 1991.

Forest will play last season’s finalists, Manchester City, in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but Nuno insists that the approach for the match remains “exactly the same” to his side’s previous games.

“[We have] the same approach. We are delighted that we are going to go to Wembley to compete against a good team in the semi-final of the FA Cup,” he said.

“It was a long journey, a stressful one that we have been through to achieve it. We have to compete, we have to go and play.”

The Reds come into Sunday’s game with plenty of momentum, after goals from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood proved enough to earn all three points against Spurs on Monday night, despite Richarlison’s late goal for the hosts.

“[The Spurs win] helps a lot,” Espirito Santo said. “The best way to prepare for the match is when you perform well in the previous one. I think we bounced back from previous performances and the players were good, so we are confident.”

More than 35,000 Forest fans will be travelling to support their team in their first Wembley outing since the 2022 Championship play-off final.

Nuno had a message for all the supporters making the trip, saying: “We cannot thank them enough to be there. We know that we have a lot of fans going. It’s a lot, even more than is possible.

“That shows the support of the fans, that the city is happy. What can I say to them? Sing as high as you can.”

However, Forest do have some concerns with injuries. “[There are] a lot of concerns. We are assessing players day by day. We have players coming back that we have to assess.”

Ola Aina left the City Ground in crutches after Forest’s 1-0 win against Manchester United at the start of the month, but could make a return for the special occasion.

The Forest boss said: “He [Aina] is one of the cases. It is day to day. There’s still tomorrow to go, let’s see. Eric Moreira is the same and players that are dragging issues from previous games. We are assessing all of them.”

For the players that are involved, Nuno urged them to enjoy the occasion against City.

“You don’t have to shield them, it is impossible to shield a squad of players when there is so much information and when it is such a special occasion for us,” he said. “We have to enjoy it, but we have to go as a group of players and staff to compete. That’s the best way to enjoy the semi final of the FA Cup, if you are focused and committed to compete.”