Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest: preview, team news, how to watch & prediction

Liverpool entered the international break following three consecutive victories over Ipswich Town, Brentford and Manchester United.

The biggest win came against the arch-rivals, Man Utd as they thrashed Erik ten Hag’s side 3-0 at Old Trafford. So, the Merseyside club are the only club in the Premier League – who haven’t conceded a goal thus far this campaign.

They are currently joint top with Man City with nine points and both teams have a +7 goal difference at the moment. Now, the Reds will resume their Premier League campaign after the international break when they take on Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday.

So, Arne Slot has enjoyed a brilliant start as the new manager of Liverpool and he will be hoping to continue the winning run in this encounter as well.

On the other hand, after surviving relegation last term, Nottingham Forest have enjoyed a promising start to this season as they haven’t lost a game so far in the Premier League, winning one and drawing the other two.

Therefore, Nuno Espirito Santo will be hoping to keep their unbeaten run going this Saturday as well. But, coming away with a positive result from Anfield would be an extremely difficult task.

Previous meetings

Liverpool have been dominant over their Saturday’s opponent in recent times as they have won five consecutive matches over them and Slot’s side will be looking to make it six out of six.

How to watch

The match will kick off at 3 PM UK time and the game won’t be televised live in the UK due to the blackout rule. However, fans lucky enough to have Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest tickets can take in all the action live at Anfield.

Team news

Liverpool have been relatively injury-free during the first few weeks of this season but unfortunately, Harvey Elliott has sustained an injury and is set to remain sidelined until October so he isn’t in contention to feature in this encounter.

Moreover, Alexis Mac Allister picked up a knock during international duty with Argentina but the issue isn’t expected to be anything serious and he should be ready to start this weekend.

Additionally, Curtis Jones could also be fit enough to make the squad in this encounter but Federico Chiesa might not be ready to feature just yet having joined the club from Juventus this summer.

As for Forest, they don’t have many injury problems at the moment but Danilo broke his ankle in the opening Premier League fixture against AFC Bournemouth and is likely to remain sidelined for the rest of this season.

Predicted line-ups

Liverpool have been excellent so far this season and Slot is unlikely to make any changes to his squad that started versus Man Utd earlier this month.

So, Alisson would keep hold of his place between the sticks, while Caoimhim Kelleher is expected to continue on the bench.

Virgil van Dijk has started the season brilliantly and he is likely to remain at the heart of Liverpool’s defence with Ibrahima Konate set to be paired up with the Dutchman. Therefore, Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez will have to make do with a place on the bench.

Trent Alexander-Arnold was impressive during the international break and he should be the right-back for Liverpool this weekend, while Andrew Robertson may commence on the opposite side.

Therefore, Conor Bradley and Konstantinos Tsimikas will have to settle for a place on the bench. Slot has continued to use Bradley by replacing Trent in the second half in the first few games and he could do that once again this weekend.

Mac Allister should commence in the midfield pivot role alongside Ryan Gravenberch with Dominik Szoboszlai likely to be in the attacking midfield position. So, Wataru Endo might be on the bench once again on Saturday.

The Merseyside club’s frontline have been outstanding thus far this season with Luis Diaz scoring a brace last time out versus Man Utd, while Mohamed Salah scored a solitary goal and provided both the assists for the Colombian’s goals in that fixture.

So, the duo would continue on the flanks with Diogo Jota likely to lead the line. Therefore, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo could feature off the bench in this encounter.

Predicted Liverpool line-up vs Nottingham Forest:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Diaz, Jota, Salah

As for Forest, Nuno should field his team in the 4-2-3-1 formation with Matz Sels expected to be in goal.

Nikola Milenkovic could be in the centre-back position alongside Murillo, while Neco Williams and Ola Aina might be the two fullbacks.

Elliot Anderson is likely to be in the engine room and he could be paired up with Ibrahim Sangare, pushing Morgan Gibbs-White in the number ten position.

Anthony Elanga is expected to commence in the right-wing role, while Callum Hudson-Odoi would be on the opposite side. Chris Wood could be leading the line for Forest in this fixture.

Predicted Nottingham Forest line-up vs Liverpool:

Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina; Sangare, Andersen, Gibbs-White; Hudson-Odoi, Wood, Elanga

Key players

Van Dijk will have to keep his focus in this encounter as Nottingham Forest have pace in their attack and that could hurt the Reds in counter-attacking situations.

Salah has already scored three goals and three assists in the Premier League this season and the responsibility will be on him to guide his team to victory in this game by putting his name on the scoresheet.

Diaz has been excellent during the early stages of this term as he has already scored three goals and the Forest backline will have to find a way to stop the Colombian in this encounter.

As for Forest, their backline and the goalkeeper will have to be at the top of their game to stop the hosts scoring at Anfield.

Wood has already scored two goals in three games in the Premier League this season and the visitors will be hoping that the New Zealand international will be able to score this weekend and help his side come away with a positive result.

Elanga’s pace would be the visitors’ main weapon to cause Liverpool’s defence trouble and the Swedish international needs to be clinical in front of the goal.

Prediction

Liverpool have been extremely dominant at Anfield in recent years and are the heavy favourite to come away with all three points from this fixture. So, it will be a huge shock if the visitors can get a positive result this weekend.

Nuno will be hoping that his side will remain tight and compact and hit the Merseyside club’s backline with pace.

Therefore, it is going to be interesting to see whether any upset is on the cards or not in this fixture. Liverpool 3-0 Nottingham Forest