Nottingham Forest continue their friendly schedule on Tuesday when they face Greek Super League side Atromitos at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens.
This unprecedented World Cup break has put a hold on Forest's first season back in the Premier League for two decades just when their form was beginning to pick up, whereas Atromitos have also had their domestic campaign halted due to the tournament in Qatar.
Match preview
© Reuters
Although knowledge around Atromitos as a club among Forest fans will be extremely basic, the Greek side have a familiar face in the form of 52-year-old Chris Coleman managing the side as they navigate another season in Greece's top flight.
Coleman - who remarkably guided Wales to a semi-final place in Euro 2016 - has been at the helm in Athens since January, steering the club to a sixth-placed finish in the Super League.
That positioning meant Atromitos narrowly avoided qualification for the relegation playoff, but expectations would have been greater amongst supporters considering they had placed inside the top four in four consecutive seasons before last campaign.
Coleman's men have not played since a 2-0 loss at high-flying Panathinaikos in the middle of October, and have collected just one win from their last five Super League fixtures before the season was stopped for the World Cup.
Given the influx of signings, Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper is looking at their upcoming six-day training camp in Greece as not only an opportunity to build up fitness before a return to competitive action, but also as a way to bring over 20 new players closer as a group.
Forest completed their first friendly of this winter break on Friday night, with an own goal from Steve Cook and a second-half strike from Tyrese Campbell meaning Championship side Stoke City ran out 2-1 winners at the Loughborough University Stadium.
Cooper opted to field two separate XIs in each half with a mixture of experience and youth in each, so reasonable Forest fans will not panicking over the defeat to second-tier opposition in an encounter which had the feeling of a pre-season game.
The Forest squad will travel to Athens on Sunday afternoon to commence their six-day camp, with friendlies against Atromitos and 47-time Super League winners Olympiacos to form part of the preparation ahead of a return to competitive action against Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Cup later this month.
The Tricky Trees have found life back in the Premier League difficult and a leaky defence looked set to make the mission to maintain their top-tier status improbable, but three clean sheets in the last five games and only a single defeat has seen Cooper's men rise to 18th in the league standings, just a point from safety.
Team News
© Reuters
Atromitos could be without Icelandic midfielder Samuel Fridjonsson when Forest visit on Tuesday, with the 26-year-old suffering from illness over the past week meaning he has been unable to play a part in team training.
Vidar Orn Kjartansson is Atromitos' top scorer so far this campaign with four goals in the Greek Super League, with the former Rubin Kazan striker set to start alongside Gaetan Robail and Spaniard Juan Muniz in attack.
Nottingham Forest have confirmed new signing Gustavo Scarpa will travel with the squad to Athens after signing for the club on Sunday morning, with the Brazilian fresh from winning Serie A with Palmeiras and providing 12 assists in the process, more than any other player in the division.
Serge Aurier and Jesse Lingard were both not involved in Forest's defeat against Stoke on Friday night, with Cooper stating post-match that the duo had been ill in the week and should be back in action on Tuesday.
Forest have three players who formed part of the Wales World Cup squad returning to club duties this week, with Wayne Hennessey, Neco Williams and Brennan Johnson all unlikely to play a part against Atromitos on Tuesday, although at least one of that Welsh trio should be involved in the clash with Olympiacos later in the week.
Atromitos possible starting lineup:
Gianniotis; Kechrida, Mavromatis, Chatziisaias, De Bock; Rotariu, Erlingmark, Gonzalez; Muniz, Robail, Kjartansson
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Boly, Worrall, Mbe Soh; Fewster, O'Brien, Mangala, Toffolo; Gibbs-White, Dennis, Awoniyi
We say: Atromitos 1-1 Nottingham Forest
With both sides likely to field completely different XIs in each half, it is extremely difficult to predict how this encounter in Athens will go on Tuesday.
Nottingham Forest clearly have the better playing squad compared to their Greek hosts, but a lack of rhythm to this friendly match could see Cooper's side forced to settle for a draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
