Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest predicted line-ups: Gibbs-White tipped to start as Lukic misses out

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Morgan Gibbs-White returns to our Nottingham Forest predicted line-up against Ipswich Town, while Florentino Luís gets the nod in the hosts’ midfield with Sasa Lukic ruled out.

The sides meet at Portman Road on Friday 23 October, with kick-off at 8pm BST. These are our predicted starting teams, based on the available team news and selection options. Neither XI is confirmed.

Ipswich predicted line-up: Florentino alongside Palacios

Predicted XI, 4-2-3-1: Christian Walton; Abdoul Ouattara, Dara O’Shea, Issa Diop, Leif Davis; Florentino Luís, Exequiel Palacios; Abdul Fatawu, Julio Enciso, Daizen Maeda; Emersonn.

Gary O’Neil will again be without Lukic because of a groin injury. The midfielder’s absence leaves Florentino as our choice to partner Palacios, with no need to gamble on an early return.

As detailed in our Lukic injury update, O’Neil hopes the midfielder can return for the following weekend’s trip to Hull. That remains a target rather than a confirmed comeback date.

TWTD’s report of O’Neil’s team-news briefing also explains the manager’s difficulty in accommodating Florentino, Palacios and Lukic together: none is ideally suited to the more advanced midfield role.

Our selection keeps Enciso behind Emersonn, with Fatawu and Maeda completing the attacking midfield line. Zian Flemming offers an alternative centrally, while Jacob Greaves would give O’Neil another defensive option if he changes the shape.

Nottingham Forest predicted line-up: Gibbs-White behind Delap

Predicted XI, 3-4-2-1: Matz Sels; Jair Cunha, Ousmane Diomande, Murillo; Daniel Muñoz, Xaver Schlager, Nicolás Domínguez, Neco Williams; James McAtee, Morgan Gibbs-White; Liam Delap.

Oliver Glasner has confirmed Gibbs-White is available after missing the Arsenal match. His return gives Forest another option behind Delap, and we predict a start alongside McAtee.

The distinction is important: Gibbs-White’s availability is confirmed, but his place in the starting XI remains our prediction.

Glasner also confirmed that Nikola Milenković is ready to start, while Igor Jesus and Nicolò Savona remain unavailable, according to Hayters’ report of his press conference.

We retain Cunha, Diomande and Murillo in the back three, although Milenković’s availability makes the defensive selection less certain. Dan Ndoye is another strong contender further forward.

Choosing McAtee alongside Gibbs-White would leave Domínguez and Schlager together centrally. An alternative would be to move McAtee deeper and bring Ndoye into the attacking pair.

What could change before kick-off?

For Ipswich, the main uncertainty in our prediction is how O’Neil arranges his attacking players and whether he retains a back four.

For Forest, Gibbs-White’s return gives Glasner choices rather than settling the entire team. Milenković’s readiness and Ndoye’s claims mean changes could follow in both defence and attack.

Our Ipswich–Forest preview covers the wider match context. For broadcast and streaming information, see the UK television guide.

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