Emmanuel Dennis is back in the English Premier League after his August move from Watford. He has not quite lived up to the hype yet, but the Nigerian is highly thought of at the City Ground. Can Dennis get the goals to keep Forest in the Premier League?
Forest Embroiled in Relegation Battle
Naturally, after winning promotion via the EFL Championship play-offs last term, Nottingham Forest is among the favorites for relegation this season. You can find an extensive betting guide over at https://bettors.co.zm/, and the Premier League survival race is wide open in terms of betting. Nottingham Forest is priced at +100 to be relegated to the Championship and -138 to stay up.
The bottom half of the table from 12th to bottom is extremely tight right now. Around eight clubs are in a fight for survival, including Nottingham Forest. Nevertheless, they have an excellent manager in Steve Cooper, and the Reds have made a habit of proving the bookies wrong this season.
Can Dennis get the goals?
Scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in soccer, especially as a newcomer in the Premier League. England’s top division is notoriously difficult for promoted clubs, and Forest has found the step up tough going thus far.
Ahead of the March international break, Forest netted just 22 goals, the joint fewest in the division. If they do end up going down, the lack of goals would have no doubt played a huge part.
According to www.theguardian.com/football/2022/aug/13/nottingham-forest-complete-signing-of-watford-striker-emmanuel-dennis, Dennis was snapped up from Watford for an undisclosed fee in August. He arrived in England at Vicarage Road back in 2021 and was an instant success. Dennis was nominated for Premier League Player of the Month after a standout performance against Manchester United and several top displays.
Watford was relegated at the end of the season, and Dennis played two Championship games for the Hornets before moving to the City Ground in August 2022. His first goal for Forest came in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in October
The 25-year-old has hardly set the world alight in Nottinghamshire, but he could still have a big part to play for Cooper’s team this term. uk.sports.yahoo.com/football/premier-league/nottingham-forest-newcastle-united-13239296/showed that he scored in a narrow loss to Newcastle United in early March, ending a five-month goal drought.
Due to his stuttering form for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, Dennis was left out of Nigeria’s roster for their African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea-Bissau.
First and foremost, Dennis will be looking to build on his goal and strong performance against Newcastle before the international break, and then he can focus on breaking back into Jose Peseiro’s team.
As Forest look to avoid an instant return to the Premier League, they will be looking to Dennis to rekindle his form in front of goal. The Yola-born star was tipped as the next big thing to come out of Nigerian soccer when he broke on the scene with Zorya Luhansk in 2016, but Dennis has yet to fulfil his potential. Can he turn his fortunes around and be a real hit at the City Ground in 2023 and beyond?
Source: goaley.com
