Still reeling from back-to-back away humiliations, Nottingham Forest traveled to face Exeter in the FA Cup following their 5-0 drubbing by Bournemouth. Nuno Espirito Santo's rotated squad needed a penalty shootout lottery to advance after a 2-2 draw, despite playing with a man advantage throughout extra time and introducing attacking reinforcements like Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White.

For the Garibaldi outfit, any progression represents a minor victory, as they haven't lifted the FA Cup since their 1959 triumph and entered this season having lost four of their last five fifth-round matches. Coincidentally, Forest's 2023-24 campaign also ended at this stage against reigning champions Manchester United. The hosts arrive for Monday's clash with fading Premier League form, managing just one point from their last nine top-flight fixtures.

However, that solitary point came in a gritty goalless draw with fellow top-four contenders Arsenal in midweek, leaving Santo's men on the Premier League podium in third place and extending their unbeaten run at the City Ground to eight matches, five of which have seen them keep clean sheets.

While Forest laboured to victory versus Exeter in the fourth round, Ipswich flexed their Premier League-sized muscles to emphatically eliminate last year's beaten semi-finalists Coventry City, who quickly responded to George Hirst's opener before the floodgates opened.

The Coventry Building Society Arena ended up being the venue for the Jack Clarke show, as the one-time Tottenham Hotspur man bagged a brace before laying on an assist for Jaden Philogene in a 4-1 drubbing, one which succeeded an equally emphatic 3-0 win over Bristol Rovers in round three.

Adding a second FA Cup trophy to their cabinet is not exactly high on the agenda for Ipswich, whose first and only triumph in the competition came in 1978 as they stunned Arsenal in the final, but even making it to the last 16 represents their best run since 2006-07, when Watford sent them packing at this point.

Not since the 1992-93 season - where Arsenal gained revenge for their final loss 15 years before - have the Tractor Boys made the quarter-finals, and in another bad omen for Kieran McKenna's men, the visitors have lost each of their last 13 FA Cup games against Premier League sides.

Suffering six losses and only managing one draw from their last seven top-flight games - most recently being edged out 3-2 by a 10-man Manchester United - also stands Ipswich in bad stead, not to mention November's 1-0 loss to Forest at the City Ground, their 15th straight game without an away win against Monday's hosts.

In typical Santo fashion, the Forest boss refused to give much away when asked for a team news update at his pre-game press conference, simply stating that some unnamed players had bumps and bruises that would need assessing over the weekend.

What we do know is that towering goalkeeper Carlos Miguel is due to miss out with the hamstring injury he suffered against Exeter, meaning that there should be no respite for Matz Sels unless Wayne Hennessey is thrown in for a surprise start.

The calibre of opposition means that Santo should not make as many changes as he did in the fourth round, but Ramon Sosa in particular might be hopeful of promotion from the bench, having scored in both the third and fourth round as he aims to become the first Forest player since Lee Chapman in 1989 to net in the first three stages of one FA Cup campaign.

Santo's opposite number McKenna was a bit more open on the fitness front, confirming that Omari Hutchinson would miss this match owing to the knee injury he picked up against Man United, joining Wes Burns (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles), Christian Walton (groin) and Kalvin Phillips (calf) on the sidelines.

Julio Enciso is also nursing a knee problem but is cup-tied anyway, although Conor Chaplin (knee) and Arijanet Muric (shoulder) could both come back into contention for Monday's fixture, where McKenna has suggested he will reward his players who came up with the goods in the earlier rounds.

As a result, there is every chance that fourth-round scorer Hirst could threaten Liam Delap's place in the final third, where Sammie Szmodics should be recalled to step in for the stricken Hutchinson.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Sels; Aina, Morato, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Danilo; Jota, Gibbs-White, Sosa; Awoniyi

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Palmer; Tuanzebe, O'Shea, Woolfenden, Townsend; Cajuste, Morsy; Philogene, Szmodics, Clarke; Delap