After a 1-1 draw with Wolves in the previous round, manager Steve Cooper needs Nottingham Forest players to get a good result against Tottenham to avoid any further pressure.
After a 0-5 defeat to Fulham, Nottingham had an effortful performance at Molineux. If they had been more cautious about their chances, they could have won all 3 points against Wolves. However, Cooper's side have now won just one of their last 12 Premier League games. The last time they won was in November against Aston Villa.
Cooper made seven changes to his squad against Wolves. It is that constant change that has caused them many difficulties this season. Only Brighton have made more changes to their Premier League squad than Nottingham. Meanwhile, only Newcastle, due to injury, has used more players than Nottingham.
A regular at Nottingham's side is Morgan Gibbs-White. Since the team returned to the Premier League last August, his 94 chances and 10 assists have been three times more than any other Nottingham player. Following Morgan Gibbs-White is Brennan Johnson (who created 29 chances, 3 assists), who will meet his former team Tottenham for the first time.
Gibbs-White is likely to partner Anthony Elanga in attack, but Cooper is still having a headache with the injury of striker Taiwo awoniyi. Chris Wood, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Divock Origi could be options if Cooper wants to change.
Tottenham also need a positive result after breaking a 5-match winless streak, when defeating Newcastle 4-1 in the previous round. With an early start to round 17, Spurs have the opportunity to put pressure on top teams like Man City.
Son Heung-min was Tottenham's brightest star in the victory over Newcastle with 2 assists and 1 goal. The Korean player has been involved in 14 goals (10 goals, 4 assists) in his last 13 Premier League games. And only Erling Haaland has a better scoring form away from home than Sonny in this season's tournament.
Spurs will be less dependent on Son Heung-min, as Richarlison has scored again in 39 Premier League appearances. The Brazilian striker scored a double in the win over Newcastle.
With Richarlison likely to start alongside Son and Johnson in attack, Dejan Kulusevski will be pushed back to midfield. The striker has created more chances from open play than any other player in the Premier League this season, while Son has also finished fourth.
Of course, Spurs are still missing a number of key players, including James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Rodrigo Bentancur due to injury. Postecoglou, meanwhile, revealed that Giovani Lo Celso will not be able to play due to a training session injury.
After winning four consecutive Premier League games against Tottenham between 1995 and 1997, Nottingham have lost their last three against their opponents. In particular, Spurs scored a double against Nottingham last season.
Tottenham have now won their last two away games against Nottingham and have the chance to win three in a row for the first time at the City Ground since 1989 and 1991.
Meanwhile, Cooper's side have lost their last two home games against Brighton and Everton. They have previously lost just two of their 20 home Premier League games. The last time they lost 3 consecutive home matches was from August to September last year, including a defeat to Spurs.
Notably, Spurs have scored in their last 28 Premier League games, their longest run since the 32-game run (February - November 1962).
In addition, Postecoglou's side have opened the scoring in 13 Premier League games this season, despite not being able to win six of them.
The match between Nottingham vs Tottenham takes place at 3:00 am on February 16 (Vietnam time), live on K+.
