Nottingham Forest vs. Arsenal: EPL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

Arsenal will face high-flying Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Wednesday to keep their dwindling prospects of winning the Premier League alive after suffering the worst blow to their aspirations.

In Saturday's 1-0 derby loss to West Ham United, the Gunners' January transfer gamble paid off once again. Meanwhile, in gameweek 26, their hosts also lost, falling to Newcastle United 4-3.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Mikel Merino's heroic performance off the bench against Leicester City was a mirage for Mikel Arteta and company. On Saturday, with the substitute striker starting from the opening whistle, Arsenal were repeatedly thwarted by a resilient West Ham side and were severely punished for their lack of aggression.

Not only did Arsenal struggle offensively, but they also made an unusual defensive error that allowed Jarrod Bowen to score a vital header in the first half. The Gunners' lack of a vicious center striker glared as they desperately attempted to rally.

Gooners would have traded their red scarves for sky-blue for a few hours on Sunday. However, thanks to Liverpool's victory against Manchester City, the difference between first and second is now a massive eleven points, even though Liverpool have played one more game.

As a senior striker is out of the picture for Arteta for the remainder of the season, Arsenal may have lost the Premier League title and their unbeaten home record for the top-flight season on the same weekend. I can only imagine what the transfer gurus thought when they decided to stay put instead of signing in January.

As the weekend approaches, Everton supporters can only take solace in their team's four wins in the last five Premier League away games. However, the last time they suffered back-to-back losses in the top flight was also against West Ham at home.

St. James' Park hosted a seven-goal spectacular over the weekend, in contrast to the lack of goalmouth activity at the Emirates. Despite a late comeback by Nottingham Forest, they could not reverse the damage inflicted by a first-half surrender that occurred eleven minutes into the match.

After Callum Hudson-Odoi opened the scoring, the Magpies got four goals from Alexander Isak (2), Lewis Miley, and Jacob Murphy in a row. However, in the last ten minutes, Ryan Yates and Nikola Milenkovic revealed Newcastle's set-piece weaknesses, which made for a fascinating match.

Unfortunately, Nuno Espirito Santo's team lost its third game in a row on the road, reducing its Premier League lead to three points over Newcastle and casting doubt on its chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

The 7-0 thrashing of Brighton & Hove Albion on February 1 extended the Garibaldi's undefeated run at the City Ground to seven meetings, six of which they have won. Since August, the hosts have failed to score on their own turf, so clearly, home is still where the heart is for the club.

Although the Tricky Trees' offensive prowess diminished in a 3-0 loss to Arsenal on the road in November, the Gunners have won three consecutive meetings in their head-to-head; a fourth win is vital to keep their championship ambitions alive if they haven't already.

Nottingham Forest x Arsenal

After coming in as a second-half replacement, Myles Lewis-Skelly received a record-breaking red card for preventing Mohammed Kudus from scoring after the Ghanaian stole the ball. On Saturday, Arsenal's day went wrong.

After the Gunners' harsh punishment for the 18-year-old for his unfair red card against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Lewis-Skelly will serve a one-match suspension on Wednesday. This will give Riccardo Calafiori a chance to redeem himself after a dismal performance at the weekend.

Although Ethan Nwaneri reported exhaustion over the weekend, he should be given the go-ahead to play with Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Gabriel Martinelli (hamstring), Kai Havertz (hamstring), and Gabriel Jesus (ACL).

After failing with Merino as a starting against West Ham, Arteta's only genuine option is to start the ineffectual Raheem Sterling, a move he was hesitant to make last weekend when Nwaneri hobbled out.

Forest, on the other hand, are almost injury-free heading into Wednesday's match; the only absent player is backup custodian Carlos Miguel (hamstring). Santo, on the other hand, has a major decision to make with their starting lineup when the Gunners come.

Given Arsenal's dismal performance against a West Ham team configured in just that manner, the Tricky Trees manager, who was once the coach of Tottenham Hotspur, may decide to take a page out of Graham Potter's playbook and experiment with a back three.

Our prediction

Full time draw @ 3.45 on Sky247.ng

Given that Santo's men are back at their City Ground stronghold and are playing an Arsenal team with a far less devastating attack if the weekend is any indication, Wednesday's game should not be impacted too much by Forest's disastrous defensive performance against Newcastle.

Even though Santo may play with a more defensive formation, the Gunners' still-top-of-the-league defense should be able to hold Santo at bay. However, their injury-plagued offense will likely fail to score again, and a disappointing draw might effectively kill their championship hopes.

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