Liverpool travel to West Bridgford for a tricky Premier League game at Nottingham Forest who will have their sights set on causing another upset.
Nottingham Forest is looking to welcome Liverpool to their bogey ground when they face off on Matchday 27 as both sides seek points that keep them above their respective rivals.
Liverpool were comprehensive 3-0 winners when these teams met earlier this season at Anfield as Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah all got on the scoresheet. Meanwhile, Forest are unbeaten in their last five home league outings against Liverpool and they won the corresponding fixture last term thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s lone goal.
The Tricky Trees won only one of their first three matches of the season, yet they displayed the sort of resilience that made them beat the drop in 2022-23.
Forest got their first away win at Chelsea in 27 years as their season sparked into life but they failed to win any of their next four matches against Burnley, Manchester City, Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Luton Town with four draws and a defeat to the Premier League champions.
Liverpool were 3-nil winners at Anfield but Forest got a morale-boosting win at home to Aston Villa. Since then, the Tricky Trees failed to win any of their next seven matches as Steve Cooper was replaced at the helm by Nuno Espírito Santo.
The two-time European champions lost to Bournemouth 3-2 after going down to 10 men on their manager’s debut, but then ended 2023 with back-to-back wins – including a first against Manchester United in 29 years – to move four points clear of the relegation zone.
Forest needed extra time to see off Blackpool 3-2 in a thrilling FA Cup third-round replay and they will be full of confidence from an ongoing four-match unbeaten run. Meanwhile, the club was charged with breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules in their accounts for 2022–23 and could soon be deducted points.
That desperation could spur them on to even better performances and a result against Liverpool would be just what the doctor ordered.
Jurgen Klopp’s side will be undeterred considering how they have surmounted each challenge and risen to the top of the league table this season.
An opening draw against Chelsea pointed little in the way of a direction but Liverpool won all of their next five league games, the eventual defeat to Tottenham Hotspur was a vindication of their resilience as poor officiating cost them points despite having two players sent off.
While they beat Everton, Nottingham Forest, and Brentford, draws against Brighton, Luton Town, and Manchester City highlighted the teething issues they have defensively. December nevertheless started with consecutive wins against Fulham, Sheffield United, and Crystal Palace but they drew key head-to-head clashes against Manchester United and Arsenal.
Liverpool then beat Burnley 2-0 on Boxing Day before getting the better of Newcastle in a New Year’s Day epic. The Reds have cruised into the Last 16 of the Europa League, booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup, and have one foot in the Carabao Cup final with a comeback 2-1 win at home to Fulham.
They are full of confidence and show the trademark relentlessness that has been their hallmark under Klopp. Although Forest away is traditionally a difficult fixture for Liverpool, they will be confident of getting the job done and keeping their title race on track.
Match tickets
This match takes place on Saturday, March 2 2024 with kick-off set for 3 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on each club’s website but club members will receive priority allocation.
The City Ground is set to be occupied to the brim with Forest fans who will be hoping to relive another famous win at home to Liverpool. They will certainly feel like they can do so which means there could be no spare seats in the 30,404-seater arena.
With match tickets set to be sold out on the official channels, any supporters desperate to attend can find Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool tickets on a ticket resale site.
Team news
Anthony Elanga and Divock Origi are the latest absentees for Forest who also have Felipe and Taiwo Awoniyi unavailable due to injury.
Elsewhere, Morgan Gibbs-White will be out for up to two weeks with an abdominal injury while a remarkable six players are on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations: Moussa Niakhate, Cheikhou Kouyate, Willy Boly, Serge Aurier, Ibrahim Sangare and Ola Aina. They should all be available when Liverpool comes to town.
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai are the latest to join a growing injury list that includes Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, Joel Matip, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas.
Wataru Endo and Mohamed Salah are also unavailable at the time of writing having joined up with their national teams.
Line-ups
The new Forest manager must be quick to implement his style on the team to galvanize the club and fans, hence, a positive result against the league leaders would do wonders for their belief.
Anthony Elanga is a man in form having been involved in four goals in his last three Premier League games while he is Forest’s most productive player this season with four goals and six assists.
Nottingham Forest: Turner; Aurier, Worrall, Murillo, Aina; Danilo, Sangare; Gibbs-White, Dominguez, Elanga; Wood
Liverpool would field a strong side regardless of their key absences and they should be able to welcome back at least one of their senior left-backs.
Liverpool: Alisson; Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, MacAllister, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
Prediction
Liverpool are favourites but they have a huge task of seeing out a favourable result at the City Ground where the home fans and players would be making it an uncomfortable afternoon.
Therefore, the Merseysiders must be at their clinical best and it is pertinent that they deal with the physicality of their opponents. Forest, on the other hand, will be defensively solid and look for gaps to hit Liverpool with a sucker punch.
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Liverpool
