Liverpool have a crucial trip to Nottingham Forest ahead of them and Arne Slott will be keen to avenge their Anfield defeat as they aim to rediscover their form in the Premier League.
Nottingham Forest v Liverpool
Premier League (20) | city ground
January 14, 2025 | 8pm (GMT)
After two domestic cup matches with mixed success, Liverpool returned to the Premier League when they faced a confident Forest side who will be looking to pick up a point.
The slot side have been unable to make progress recently but Tuesday presents their next opportunity to add three points and maintain their gap at the top.
Here are 10 things you need to know before a crash:
1. Liverpool is missing only two players
Thanks to the rest and substitutions over the weekend, the Reds will go into this game with plenty of fresh legs and only two absentees.
Joe Gomez (hamstring) remains sidelined and Slot expects the predictability to continue, describing the defender as “very far away” from returning.
Darwin Nunez is the only player out due to a one-game suspension after receiving five yellow cards in the first half of the season. He could return to Brentford.
Then you need a strong team to take on Forest!
2. This is the shape of the forest.
Slot has previously said himself that the club is “normally not a top 10 club” in the Premier League, but many will be reconsidering this after Forest’s stunning start.
They are third, six points behind the Reds, behind Arsenal only on goal difference and have won their last seven games in all competitions.
In those games they have conceded just three times and have finished with clean sheets in each of the last five. They are clearly full of confidence.
Forest are highest in the standings after their last eight league games, with 21 points behind next-best Liverpool (18).
3. One important decision in the Reds’ XI
After fully resting seven players and leaving three others unused in the matchday squad that won against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup, you get the sense that Slot’s side were quite predictable.
The usual suspects will be returning, with players like Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz.
With only two senior options confirmed to be available for him, the biggest decision will be whether Dominik Szoboszlai or Curtis Jones will start in midfield.
With Szoboszlai re-emerging after three games over the weekend and playing just 45 minutes, you’d expect him to return after a few uncertain outings from Jones.
Predicted Reds XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dyck, Robertson; Gravenberg, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
4. Forest will have a new XI.
Forest will not have to worry about fatigue heading into this game as they made 11 changes for last weekend’s FA Cup win.
Danilo returned from the bench from a long-term ankle injury as they advanced to round four, leaving only Ibrahim Sangare on the injured list.
Nuno insisted on the eve of the game that there were no “major issues” with his squad and that Slot could prepare with that in mind.
Chris Wood (12 goals) is a clear threat and Morgan Gibbs-White has proven influential with four goals and three assists.
Expected Forest XI: cels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Dominguez, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; wood
5. There is no longer a threat of suspension…for now.
With Liverpool reaching the halfway point of the season against Manchester United, the Premier League has now reset its yellow card suspension criteria.
This means no players are at immediate risk of suspension, with the number of yellow cards now increased to 10 from Matchday 20.
A player who receives 10 yellow cards in the first 32 games of a season will be banned for two games, regardless of whether he or she has already received five yellow cards.
As mentioned above, Nunez was unable to avoid a yellow card against United and is the third and final player to be banned after picking up five yellow cards in 2024/25.
6. Forrest identifies key battles
A key matchup is scheduled for Tuesday evening and we had a chat with Forest fan and podcaster Matt Davies to get some insight into where they think the match will be won or lost.
“I would say the main fights are Neco Williams vs Salah, Callum Hudson-Odoi vs Alexander-Arnold and Gibbs-White vs Gravenberch.
“At Anfield, Alex Moreno performed brilliantly against Salah, who has been the best player in the league all season.
“Williams has been fantastic at left-back since joining the team, but this is a huge challenge.
“Forest fans will be hoping Trent performs like he did against United, and Gibbs-White was excellent at finding space in midfield for the defence.”
• read: ‘Incredible’ Forrest but former Manchester United face ‘huge’ Salah challenge
7. “The results were not as shocking as I thought.”
Slot obviously couldn’t let go of the 1-0 loss to Forest at Anfield earlier this season, but admitted the result could have been viewed differently due to their form.
“Normally, whenever Liverpool lose a home game, I think it’s something we don’t expect.
“At that moment I also saw the statistic that Virgil had played 100 home games for Liverpool and lost only once. So, as you may have experienced, our loss that day was difficult for me to accept.
“Looking back now and looking at the league standings, the result is not as shocking as I thought at the time.”
Don’t let us make that mistake twice in one season, okay?
8. Did you know?
Since October 1984 Liverpool have visited the City Ground and scored more than once only once. two Cases – January 1990 and April 1999.
That means they have scored two goals in one game only twice in their last 15 visits. If you already felt this was going to be unsettling, we weren’t really helping you. Right?
But there is good news. The Reds have scored two or more goals in 12 consecutive league games. This is his best streak since scoring in 15 consecutive games from March to September 2019.
9. Cabana in the center
Chris Kavanagh was appointed to take charge of the match. This is his second Reds match of the season, following a 2-0 win over Man City.
He took responsibility for Liverpool’s 3-0 home win over Forest last season and had James Ward-Prowse sent off in the home win over Chelsea earlier this season.
The Reds have won 16 of the 21 games he has managed, and he has never been sent off in our team.
Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring are his assistants at the City Ground, while John Busby acts as fourth referee. John Brooks, who has been with us for some time, is leading VAR.
10. How to watch and follow TIA!
Liverpool’s trip to Nottingham Forest will be broadcast live from 6.30pm (GMT) on TNT Sports 1 for those of you based in the UK.
If you want a more fun and biased look at the proceedings, you can follow along on our live blog! Harry McMullen will be bringing you the latest from 7.15pm!
To these, Reds.
