One goal; one assist: Forest must start flying winger Joe Lolley vs Newcastle

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Sky Bet Championship outfit Nottingham Forest kept their unbeaten start to the 2018/19 campaign intact at the weekend by scoring two late goals to earn a share of the spoils from Birmingham City.

It wasn’t a great performance from the Reds by any stretch of the imagination, although the character shown to comeback from two goals behind will have probably delighted boss Aitor Karanka and the club’s ardent supporters.

Having spent heavily in the summer transfer window it is pretty safe to assume that Forest will be gunning for promotion this season and in order to achieve such goals they will need to ensure some of the draws are transformed into victories as the season progresses.

This Wednesday the Reds will turn their attentions back to the EFL Cup and they will look to put in a more convincing performance against Premier League Newcastle United, than they did in the previous round when penalty kicks were needed to defeat Bury of League Two.

With a sizeable squad now at his disposal, boss Karanka could look to ring the changes and one the players who stepped off the bench to earn Forest a point will no doubt be pushing to start the game.

Joe Lolley is a player who brings pace and skill to the Forest team and since his arrival from Huddersfield Town in January he has adhered himself to the Reds’ faithful with a series of fine performances.

He netted three goals and claimed three assists during the second half of last season, with the 26-year-old opening his account for the 2018/19 campaign with a stunning volley in Saturday’s draw.

Karanka has spoken in the past about picking players based on their form and Lolley is certainly a man desperate to earn a run of games in order to prove his worth to his manager.

With Newcastle likely to ring the changes for their trip to the East Midlands, some of their defenders might be guilty of carrying a bit of ring rust, making the inclusion of Lolley in the Forest side all the more pivotal towards any success they might have on the night.