Nuno hopes to make use of home advantage as Forest eye FA Cup last-eight place

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo hopes having home advantage can help carry his team over the line when they face Ipswich in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday.

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo hopes having home advantage can help carry his team over the line when they face Ipswich in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday.

In the past, Forest have struggled for consistency at the City Ground, but Nuno has made the place something of a fortress this season and they have not lost there since a 3-1 defeat to Newcastle in November.

The Reds will now be relying on that form to try and get them through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2022, and Nuno believes the Forest fans can play their part against top-flight strugglers Ipswich.

He said: "Based on what we've been feeling at home, you can see the players perform and feel comfortable at the City Ground.

"There are moments without the ball and you can suddenly see the crowd shouting and that gives energy to the place.

"You see the change of rhythm on the runs of the players so it's amazing. I'm positive at the City Ground we have always been able to do well.

"Everybody is talking about a good run in the cup, everybody can feel it. We want it because it's good for the club to go back to playing big games that decide things."

Nuno also welcomed Forest's clean sheet against Arsenal in their 0-0 draw in midweek after conceding six goals in their two previous Premier League games with Fulham and Newcastle.

He said: "The previous game (4-3 defeat to Newcastle) we conceded a lot of goals, and you see how the team perform when we are not solid and compact in defence.

"When we don't give away many chances it is much better for us because it's one of our strengths. It's the basic principle of football, to try not to concede and score.

"You want more. Maybe we don't solve problems on the goal line, but the way you recover and run back, being able to put your body behind the ball and sustain the attack, for me it's non-negotiable."

Forest remain inside the top four in the Premier League and are fighting for a place in the Champions League but have failed to win in their last three.

Nuno is not concerned by that run, however, and is still pleased with the players' performances.

He said: "Things are OK. Why shouldn't we feel good and happy? We should be proud of the work that the players are doing.

"I think we have to realise all of us, the fans and everyone, that football has ups and downs with moments and bad moments.

"The moment that our team doesn't compete the way I can see and the way we are competing, then we have a problem. No, I don't see that yet."