This weekend's third round ties take place on the back of a busy schedule of festive fixtures and both the Reds and the Hammers have different priorities which may see them make a host of changes for their meeting.
For Billy Davies, who rotated in the League Cup earlier in the season, it is a chance to see his fringe players in action while for Sam Allardyce it provides a break from a relegation struggle and a chance to rest some of his top names.
West Ham also have a Capital One Cup semi-final coming up next week when they play the first of two legs against Manchester City and Allardyce confirmed on Friday his selection thoughts for the Forest game with seven players from the youth team squad included alongside the senior men.