2 dilemmas Steve Cooper has at Nottingham Forest ahead of Peterborough clash | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest host Peterborough United this afternoon aiming to try and get back to winning ways and secure a much-needed three points to climb further up the table.

Steve Cooper’s side have only managed to claim one win in their past seven Championship matches. That has seen their quick ascent up the table when the former Swansea City manager first took over at the City Ground be halted.

As a result, the Reds are sat in 16th place in the table at the moment and they are now eight points adrift of the play-off places. That means they have to start putting together a more consistent winning run to have a chance of making it into the top-six this term.

Against a Peterborough side that have lost three of their last four league matches and are inside the relegation zone at the moment, it will be expected that the Reds get back to winning ways.

It could be a vitally important match for Cooper who will be wanting his side to turn some of their recent draws and solid performances into wins.

Given Nottingham Forest’s recent stuttering run of form in the Championship, Cooper will be facing one or two dilemmas heading into the match as he searches again for that winning formula.

With that in mind, we take a look at TWO dilemmas that Cooper is facing heading into this clash with Peterborough at the City Ground this afternoon…

How to get more goals into the side to turn draws into wins

Forest have managed to keep clean sheets in their previous two Championship matches against Luton Town and West Brom, but they also failed to take advantage of that by finding a breakthrough at the other end which has meant they had to settle for back-to-back goalless draws.

Cooper’s side had looked a really strong attacking force when they swept aside Preston North End winning 3-0 a few weeks ago, but since then they have registered just once in their last three matches.

That will be a frustration for the Reds and they have been linked with a potential move for Dwight Gayle this week as they turn their attention towards the January window.

There is pressure on the likes of Lewis Grabban and Lyle Taylor to start scoring once again, but they will need perhaps a little better service at times from Forest’s creative talents than they were given in the two goalless draws against Luton and West Brom.

Considering Cooper seems to have got Forest more solid at the back over the last few weeks, if he can get the forwards firing once again then there is a major chance for the Reds to once again go on a winning run of form and start to climb the table.

Whether to make attacking changes

Cooper has made it clear to the media ahead of Forest’s clash with Peterborough that he does not want the Reds to start seeing picking up a point from matches as a great result and he believes they have to be targeting turning them draws into wins.

With that in mind, Cooper will have decide whether he should make changes to the front three for the game against Peterborough with Joe Lolley and Alex Mighten pushing for a place in the starting line-up.

That comes after Phillip Zinckernagel and Brennan Johnson did not manage to provide enough of a spark to help the Reds secure all three points against West Brom.

It seems as though Cooper could have reverted back to a back three formation, but that might have just been a tactical approach to match up more closely with West Brom last time out.