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Nottingham Forest vs. Liverpool: EPL Match Preview, Odds & Prediction
On Tuesday night, Liverpool will go to the City Ground to engage in an intriguing match against flying Nottingham Forest, who will provide one of the greatest challenges to their title defense efforts in the Premier League.
In a matchup of two clubs who have managed to out-plan Arne Slot this season, the Reds will face one of only two teams with a point differential of only two in the top tier.
Previous Matches and Head-to-head
Liverpool finally got their revenge for the knockout defeat in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur, which they lost 1-0 due to the Lucas Bergvall incident. They won spectacularly by scoring four goals against Accrington's best efforts.
The much-changed Reds were lifted off their slump following a dismal performance against Manchester United by right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who scored a magnificent long-range goal to cap off a memorable afternoon. Diogo Jota, Jayden Danns, and Federico Chiesa also encouraged the Anfield faithful.
Although Accrington's efforts were commendable, the Reds' scoring prowess was always going to determine the outcome of the third-round match, regardless of how many changes Slot, who has been hesitant to make much of the season, made.
While exhaustion may have shown in their frantic four-goal draw with Manchester United in their last Premier League match, Liverpool kept their six-point lead and still had that outstanding game to play for, thanks to Arsenal's loss to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Although they lost to Tuesday's hosts at Anfield in September, Liverpool still has the only unbeaten away record in the 2024–25 Premier League. In their last 12 league matches, Liverpool has scored twice, with five of those games occurring on rival territory.
Nevertheless, in Tuesday's epic showdown, Liverpool, an undefeated powerhouse, will face Nottingham Forest, an unstoppable force. Forest has won seven games in a row and kept five clean sheets in a row after hosting Luton Town in the FA Cup third round.
The Tricky Trees were victorious thanks to goals from Ramon Sosa and Ryan Yates just before halftime. With Nuno Espirito Santo's fairytale run continuing, the team can realistically dream of a spring trip to Wembley.
Wolverhampton Wanderers and their former flame Morgan Gibbs-White were not getting along when December's Premier League Manager of the Month paid a visit to his old Molineux home on January 6. In response, Forest's creative pivot scored the first goal in the seventh minute.
With the help of Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi, Santo's squad reached 40 points for the season after 20 games, matching Arsenal's total. With a victory, the hosts would tie their record of seven consecutive league triumphs, which they achieved in the past.
That has never been done by the Tricky Trees in Premier League history. Still, after their shocking 1-0 victory at Anfield in September—the same narrow margin by which Liverpool won last season at the City Ground as Darwin Nunez's last-gasp goal set off full-time chaos—belief should not be in short supply.
Nottingham Forest x Liverpool Team News
The Uruguayan striker Nunez, who has been a major disappointment for Liverpool recently, missed two more opportunities against Accrington and will miss Tuesday's match against Manchester United due to a ban he received for collecting five yellow cards this Premier League season.
But with Joe Gomez out with a hamstring injury and Dominik Szoboszlai and Jarell Quansah both well enough to play in the first game of the FA Cup round after recovering from sickness, Nunez shouldn't be the only Reds player missing Tuesday's match.
Nevertheless, Slot will most likely bench both players in favor of his best possible lineup, which includes bringing back Cody Gakpo, who is trying to join an exclusive group of Dutch players who have scored in four straight Premier League matches—a feat they have never achieved before.
Danilo finally returned from his ankle injury against Luton, earning five minutes as a late substitution, thus Nottingham Forest enters the midweek matchup with an almost perfect record.
At the moment, the Forest medical staff is just treating Ibrahim Sangare's hamstring injury. Santo may afford to rotate his resources in the FA Cup, and players like Carlos Miguel, James Ward-Prowse, and Awoniyi might start.
In Luton's victory, 6'8" Miguel made six saves, but Tuesday will likely see Matz Sels starting goal again as he aims for his tenth Premier League shutout of the season and moves two points ahead of David Raya and Jordan Pickford in the Golden Glove battle.
Our Predictions
Liverpool to win @ 1.71 on Sky247.ng
Despite Forest's impressive run, they haven't exactly played clubs who are usually considered easy targets. Santo's men will undoubtedly give the league leaders a tough time since they haven't been beaten by the likes of Brentford at home, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, or Manchester United.
But Liverpool's star players had a much-needed vacation during FA Cup weekend, so Slot's squad should seem refreshed at the City Ground. We're picking Liverpool to end Forest's incredible run by a hair.
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