Nottingham Forest travel to Anfield on Saturday afternoon looking for their first win there since 1988.
By Sam McGuire
Nuno Espírito Santo’s men won’t arrive fancying their chances but they will arrive full of confidence after a positive start to the season.
Forest are unbeaten in their opening three matches, picking up five points. They’re currently ahead of Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester United in the Premier League table and they find themselves just a point behind Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa.
When looking at the Expected Points table, Forest are third. That metric alone highlights how good their start to the season has been. It also highlights why they shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Liverpool will be favourites but Forest don’t appear to be pushovers. They have the second best defensive record this term when looking at underlying numbers and only Manchester City have a better Expected Goals Against total. Espírito Santo’s side are also averaging the highest number of efforts on target per game. They’re a threat going forward and they’ve been resilient defensively – the ideal combination.
The Reds will, once again, have to be at their ruthless best to get anything from this game. Arne Slot’s side are one of only two teams to go three from three this season. They’re the only team in the English top flight not to have conceded a goal and they have the joint-best Expected Goals haul (7.1)
They weathered a storm against Ipswich Town in the first half of the opening game of the season at Portman Road, they then confidently dispatched Brentford at Anfield before ruthlessly taking Manchester United apart at Old Trafford before the international break. They have passed every test. Emphatically too.
And while this might not be the first real test for Slot and his players so far, on paper, it has the potential to be the biggest test of the Slot era to date. This is a game many expect the Reds to win. This is a game they should be winning if they have any hopes of a title challenge. It is a game they need to be winning if they want to claim a Champions League place. But nobody knows how Liverpool will react to this international break. Momentum was halted. This is the first time the players have been away from Slot since the Dutchman was appointed.
Will they need to find their rhythm again or will it be business as usual? That is the unknown right now and this is what makes this game such an intriguing match-up.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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