Nottingham Forest can go from underdogs to genuine title contenders if they can complete the Championship double over Liverpool tomorrow night.
It is the ultimate test for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, who have won their last seven games in all competitions and the last five without conceding a goal.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot said earlier today that he felt the Tricky Trees were in the title race, but Nuno was slightly more circumspect.
He said: “We have to play the games. We are here to compete with all the teams and I think we are doing well, but nothing changes in our approach, which remains the same.
“We know what we can do and how we want to do things. We know each other, our strengths and weaknesses. So let’s play the game.”
Looking ahead to Liverpool. 💪 pic.twitter.com/zTyFBwaUBi
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 13, 2025
Asked if he felt Slott was playing mind games ahead of the clash at the City Ground, the Portuguese added: “I don’t know, but we try as much as possible to ignore what’s around. We never change. It’s the way we see things, the way we see competition. I would say it’s the way we see life. It’s day by day, we focus on our tasks and tomorrow is another difficult one.”
Forest go into the game six points behind Liverpool having played a game more but knowing they can beat the Merseysiders after their 1-0 triumph at Anfield in September.
That’s not to say that Nuno showed anything but immense respect for his opponents.
“Salah, Diaz, Gakpo, McAllister, Gravenberts, Van Dijk, Konate, Trent… quality everywhere,” he said.
“A fantastic team. They have shown not only in the Premier League but also in Europe how good they are. It’s about realizing that and treating the game with the real respect necessary to play against Liverpool.”
Team news
Nuno said there were “no big problems” in his squad and they are likely to return to the side that won at Wolves last Monday after a number of fringe players were given the chance to impress in Saturday’s FA Cup victory over Luton.
The same can be said for Liverpool. Slot is still without defenseman Joe Gomez but, other than that, he has a nearly full squad to choose from.
Expected line-ups
Forest: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Anderson, Dominguez, Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Liverpool: Alisson? Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson? Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
How to watch
Kick-off is at 20:00 UK time, with live coverage on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate starting at 18:30.
The Statistics
- In 8 of the last 9 Nottingham Forest matches the total number of goals was under 3.5
- In 8 of the last 9 Nottingham Forest’s Premier League matches, total number of goals were under 3.5
- In 8 of the last 9 Nottingham Forest’s home games in the Premier League, the total number of goals was under 3.5
- In the last 4 Liverpool’s away games in the Premier League, the total number of goals was over 4.5
- In the last 6 Liverpool’s matches in the Premier League, the total number of goals was over 3.5
- In 10 of the last 12 Liverpool’s matches in the Premier League, the total number of goals was over 2.5
- In the last 5 Liverpool’s away games in the Premier League, the total number of goals was over 3.5
- In 9 of the last 11 Liverpool’s away games in the Premier League, the total number of goals was over 2.5
