Turnaround the benefit outsiders
Nottingham Forest take on Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime at the City Ground.
It should be an excellent atmosphere as Forest look to thwart Jurgen Klopp’s side in their quest to compete against relegation in the Premier League.
The identical head-to-head played out in the FA Cup last season and Forest were arguably the better side as Liverpool claimed a narrow 1-0 victory.
The issue is that Forest are not playing as well as they were last season, even after heavy investment in the summer.
The high profile signings of Serge Aurier and Jesse Lingard have not paid off so far, and there may come a point when Steve Cooper will have to start picking off of character rather than investment.
Background
Forest have an extra day to recover for this fixture which could count for something being the early kick-off.
Cooper’s men picked up a much needed point and clean sheet in their 0-0 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday evening, but it cannot be overstated how poor Forest were.
They relied on poor finishing from Brighton to stay in the game, and though there was no lack of effort from the likes of Ryan Yates, Brennan Johnson and Steve Cook, a large portion of the squad are still performing well below the levels they have previously demonstrated in their careers.
Liverpool are still one of the best attacking sides in the division, however, losing Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz to injury will hurt them.
Roberto Firmino has started the season very strongly, but they do seem less menacing than they were in chasing down Manchester City at the back end of last season.
The quick turnaround could make it hard to replicate the intensity of their performance against City last weekend.
Goals?
The clean sheet, despite the fortune of it, will aid Forest’s confidence and Dean Henderson is a good enough shot stopper to ensure that the visitors do not run up a cricket score.
Forest have scored in five of ten.
Forest have conceded in eight of ten.
Forest have seen both teams score in four of ten.
Forest have seen over 2.5 goals in five of ten.
Liverpool have scored in nine of ten.
Liverpool have conceded in eight of ten.
Liverpool have seen both teams score in six of ten.
Liverpool have seen over 2.5 goals in seven of ten.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
1-0 Forest, no one saw that coming.