England Premier League
Saturday 22nd October 2022
Kick off at 12:30pm BST
Venue: City Ground
Match Preview:
In the 1980s this fixture would have been one of the biggest on the calendar but now it has been reduced to not if Liverpool will win but how many goals can they get? That may seem a tad unfair given how the Premier League can throw up surprise results but it would be a huge one if Nottingham Forest even at home were to get anything here in this lunch time kick off.
Steve Cooper’s side are bottom of the league having won just 6 points from a possible 33 and have lost seven of their opening 11 games. They are shipping an average of 2 goals per game and there doesn’t look like there is too much positive to draw on. It’s true that 70% of their points have come at home though and they just stopped a 3 game losing streak here by drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa, but they also have the worst home record in the league. Victory here would take them off the bottom of the table at least for 24 hours but it would feel like a minor miracle if they were to even get a point.
Are Liverpool back and have they even been away? Draws have been the problem with the Reds slow start and it is true that they haven’t been playing to their strengths in the past two months, but results are starting to happen now and the club are playing free flowing and attacking football they are best associated with. That was highlighted in their 1-0 win over the champions Manchester City last Sunday, a huge victory and they followed that up in midweek by beating West Ham 1-0. So it is two games where the Reds have only won by 1-0 but they have also had 35 goal attempts in that time and maybe it is only a question of when this team are going to turn out a huge score like they did to Bournemouth earlier in the season.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are climbing up the table and are in 7th place with 16 points and only four points from a top four place, although they remain a cool 11 points behind league leaders Arsenal. One interesting fact is that apart from Arsenal the Reds are the only side coming into this weekend who have won back to back games.
Team News:
Nottingham Forest: Lewis O’ Brien looks set to miss out again due to illness, Jack Colback has an ongoing back issue and remains a major doubt. Moussa Niakhate is out for at least another 3 weeks due to his muscle injury. Lodi Renan could make a return after his ankle injury but will be assessed. Omar Richards will miss out with his leg injury but should return the week after. Harry Toffolo is due to miss several weeks with a hamstring injury.
Liverpool: Diogo Jota is out until the end of the year with a hamstring injury and he joins Luis Diaz who will also miss the next two months with his knee. Naby Keita could be assessed for this game but is more likely to make a return next week. Ibrahima Konate should return next week from his muscle injury. Joel Matip remains out with a calf injury.
Nottm Forest vs Liverpool Head to Head:
The clubs last met and played at the City Ground earlier this year in the FA Cup and Liverpool won 1-0 it was their first meeting in 23 years.
Liverpool have not beaten Nottingham Forest away from home in 28 years and while the clubs haven’t played recently, the Reds failed to win any away games during most of the 80s and throughout the 1990s.
There is a 60% chance to see under 2.5 goals.
Nottm Forest vs Liverpool Prediction:
Liverpool are improving, that there is no doubt but they have been given injury update blows and any team would miss key players like Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz for several months. The only good news is that with the league stopping next month for the World Cup this won’t affect the Reds like it would in a normal undisturbed season. History says Liverpool may not win this game and it is true that Forest have a great record over them, but Forest also had a decent team decades back and while Liverpool did too, only one side can claim that now. The Reds have won their last 2 games in a row and just beating Manchester City lately will have given them an obvious lift.
Forest will not see much of the ball and they will have to be fully concentrated to get anything from this game. If they can score first that will help of course, but the worry is if Liverpool get an early goal, the floodgates could open. One problem has been their lack of goals lately and while we think they can win the game for better value we should look into different markets.
Nottm Forest vs Liverpool Betting Tips:
Half time result (Liverpool) at 1.66
Anytime goalscorer: Mohamed Salah at 1.84
Correct Score: Liverpool to win 2-0 or 3-0 at 6.95 and 8.00
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