Before Nottingham Forest’s homecoming match against Luton Town at the City Ground this weekend, Steve Cooper has a few selection decisions to make.
While players like Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos have had good performances over the international break, his biggest concern might be at center-back.
The 26-year-old Scott McKenna has impressed while playing 90 minutes in both of Scotland’s games during this international break.
The Reds defender gave a strong showing against Spain and then played a passable game against France last night.
Despite McKenna’s solid displays for his nation, Murillo and Willy Boly should both start against Luton on Saturday afternoon.
The pair have formed a solid partnership in rapid time, after clinching a clean sheet away at Crystal Palace before the break.
Both have exceeded all expectations, with Murillo making an immediate impact on the first-team after his £13 million move from Corinthians this summer.
The Brazilian demonstrated his quality on the ball against Roy Hodgson’s side with his passing range and his mazy run which nearly saw him grab his first Forest goal.
One thing Cooper’s side have struggled with since promotion back to the Premier League is keeping clean sheets.
The combination of Boly and Murillo kept one in just their second outing together as a pairing, with a massive opportunity arising for them both to secure consistent first-team places.
After their performances at Selhurst Park, the pair both deserve an opportunity to make it two clean sheets in a row this Saturday.
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