If Nuno wants to prioritise defensive solidity initially, he may start with a five-at-the-back system, but it would be unsurprising to see him deploy his more commonly used 4-2-3-1.
Despite having a general system he opts for, Nuno changes the roles of the players in his system based on their qualities.
Using the wingers as an example, Nuno would ask Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga to play wide.
Against Fulham last season the wingers were Elliot Anderson and Nicolas Dominguez, who were instead encouraged to move infield given their skillset.
Nuno will look to his strongest players, looking to create a team that allow them to do what they do best.
El Hadji Malick Diouf’s impressive quality as an attacking full-back this season will therefore likely be utilised, with Nuno opting for defensive security elsewhere on the pitch.
Niclas Fullkrug, Summerville, Soungoutou Magassa, Mateus Fernandes, Paqueta and Max Kilman are all players who also make more sense being used in Nuno’s transition-heavy system.
In analysing Nuno’s Forest, it is also important to recognise the intelligent tactical tweaks he opted for last season, dispelling the myth that he is strictly a park-the-bus-and-counter coach.
Forest beat Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-finals last season using five midfielders: Danilo, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Ryan Yates and Dominguez.
Elanga and Hudson-Odoi were benched for natural midfielders, which allowed Nuno’s men to block the central areas of the pitch, nullifying Brighton.
These game-specific tweaks often within his general system are a sign of Nuno’s adaptability in recent months.
