Toffees Will Be A Tough Test For Forest

Nottingham Forest will take to the City Ground pitch for the first time tonight, since those dramatic scenes back in May when promotion was achieved on the last day of the season.

It may not be a sellout, but a decent crowd should be present to welcome Prem boys Everton to the City Ground and to get a first glimpse of our shiny new signings. Earnshaw and Cole are expected to spearhead the Forest attack, as CC looks to improve on last seasons goal scoring difficulties.

Everton have their own goal scoring machine in striker Andy Johnson, but he could miss the game due to his impending move to Fulham for £10.5m. Midfielder Tim Cahill will definitely be out, as he's nursing a broken metatarsal.

Speaking about the Forest game, Toffees boss David Moyes told Everton TV. 'They are a terrific, old-fashioned football club with a great history. It's good to see them back in the Championship. It's a good game for us and it's not too long ago it would have been a Premier League fixture.'

This was a Premiership fixture at one time, but the last time the sides met was back in 1999, when we beat them 1-0 at the City Ground thanks to that man Pierre Van Hooijdonk. The return game at Goodison ended in a 2-0 defeat for the Reds', with Duncan Ferguson inflicting the damage with both goals.

Regardless of the result tonight, fans will at long last get a look at the side and will at least have some idea of our chances ahead of the new campaign, against some stiff opposition. French midfielder Guy Moussi will hopefully make an appearance, but Paul Anderson is out with a thigh strain. Defender Julian Bennett is expected to make his first appearance of the pre-season, after recovering from a hamstring injury. Tickets are still available for tonight and will be on sale before the game.

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