Anthony Elanga could add to Ange Postecoglou woes in Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest
Anthony Elanga may haunt his former club and add to the early struggles of Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest.
Elanga left Nottingham Forest to join Newcastle during the summer, after proving to be a key player in Nuno Espirito Santo’s counter-attack approach.
The 23-year-old has yet to score at his new club, but he won the penalty and starred in Newcastle’s 4-0 win over Union SG in the Champions League.
The winger will face Nottingham Forest for the first time since his departure this weekend, and the stats show that Postecoglou may not enjoy coming up against the Sweden international.
Anthony Elanga can exploit Ange Postecoglou system
Postecoglou is known for playing a high-line, but that strategy comes with risk, and Elanga is renowned for the pace that he possesses.
Elanga ranks fifth among all wingers in all competitions for penalty area entries and carries, from the start of the 2024-25 season.
Only Bryan Mbeumo, Dilane Bakwa, Bukayo Saka and Mo Salah have registered more than Elanga in that department.
| Matches | 51 |
| Goals | 6 |
| Assists | 12 |
| Key Passes per match | 1.31 |
| Touches in the box per match | 3.20 |
| Successful dribbles per match | 0.55 |
| Final Third entries/carries per match | 1.33 |
Elanga will look to exploit the space in-behind the Nottingham Forest defence, and transitions could be key to Newcastle winning the match.
Nottingham Forest have had over 60% possession in two of their three Premier League matches since Postecoglou took charge.
Since Postecoglou’s arrival, Nottingham Forest have also provoked 1.33 offsides per match, up from 0.93 under Nuno.
Elanga back to his best against Union SG
Worryingly for Postecoglou, Elanga will have boosted his confidence with his impressive performance against Union SG, where his pace was too much for the Belgian side to handle.
Postecoglou will only have to look at what happened to Morato against Noni Madueke in Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 defeat at Arsenal.
Morato was given a horrid time by Madueke’s bursting runs to the by-line, and Postecoglou will not want a repeat performance against Elanga.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has since come in at left-back, but the Ukrainian likes to invert into midfield and may leave space down the flank for Elanga to exploit.
The left-back position is one Postecoglou will have to get right at Newcastle, or he may face another tough defeat.