Nottingham Forest must stick with tactical tweak vs Sunderland, it worked wonders for Morgan Gibbs-White

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Forest’s second-half explosion was sparked by a tweak in formation from Pereira at the half-time break, as he shifted away from the 4-2-3-1 formation and opted to play with two strikers. ⚽ Nottingham Forest Matchday ⚽ Team news, line-ups, expert previews and tactical analysis for every Nottingham Forest fixture. VISIT THE FOREST MATCH HUB MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES 4-4-2 switch changed everything for Nottingham ForestThe striker position has provided issues for Forest throughout the season, but with Chris Wood now back to full fitness, Pereira has many more options available to him at the top of the pitch.

First HalfStatsSecond Half52%Possession51%0.27xG0.92–Shots on Target4–Big Chances29Touches in Opposition Box152Corners2Forest’s stats vs Burnley before and after the change of formation, as per Fotmob.However, the manager pulled the trigger after a lacklustre first half, and brought Jesus on in place of Bakwa, while also shifting Gibbs-White into a left-sided role in a 4-4-2. That switch provided the catalyst for the England hopeful to make a telling impact on the game, and Danny Murphy explained why it worked so well during his analysis on Match of the Day.“It benefited Gibbs-White because he’s an intelligent footballer,” the former Liverpool midfielder said.“When you’re playing against two centre-backs, and they’re occupied by two strikers, what you’ll find is that good players make runs into the space that they leave.”Gibbs-White made excellent use of the space that was provided for him by the switch, as he yet again stepped up to produce the moments of quality that his team had otherwise been lacking.

With that in mind, Pereira would be foolish to deviate away from the 4-4-2 formation that changed the game for his team on Sunday, and he should be looking to spring a surprise on the Black Cats. Pereira’s change worked wonders for Forest in their win at the weekend, and he should be looking to try and stick with it until the end of the season.