Brighton suffered an agonising penalty shoot-out loss to Manchester United in the semi-final of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium on Sunday and the players have little time to rest and recover ahead of the trip to the City Ground.
De Zerbi's squad was already stretched due to injuries ahead of the Man United clash and the Italian head coach had limited options from the bench against United and may have to call upon some of his fringe players for Wednesday night.
"To progress we have young players with big potential but to improve they must have the possibility to play,” De Zerbi said. “"But if you are 18 or 19 you can make more mistakes on the play. “We will be ready to fight and to play with the ball and try to command the play in another game."
Here's how the walking wounded are shaping up for the match against a Forest team battling to avoid the drop.
1. Adam Lallana - thigh
The Ex-Liverpool midfielder remains sidelined with thigh issue. He is hopefully of featuring before the end of the season Photo: Alex Pantling
2. Evan Ferguson - ankle
=The teenage striker is still struggling with an ankle injury sustained against Chelsea. De Zerbi said he's not sure if he will be available for Forest Photo: Mike Hewitt
3. Danny Welbeck - knee
Looked to injure his right knee in the second half against Man United at Wembley. Was forced of and it seems unlikely he will be ready to face Forest on Wednesday Photo: GLYN KIRK
4. Jeremy Sarmiento - foot
The Ecuador international remains out with a foot injury. Photo: GLYN KIRK