Reds to see off spirited challenge of Forest
Nottingham Forest and Liverpool meet for the first time in a generation for a place in the FA Cup semis at the City Ground on Sunday evening. The hosts have taken two huge scalps already in this season's competition, but will be hard pressed to obtain a trifecta against the most in-form side in the country. Read our preview here:
More gold than Zinc
The hosts are one of a clutch of teams hovering just outside the Championship play-offs, with Steve Cooper masterminding the combination of improved league form in 2022 with big cup upsets. Hitman Lewis Grabban will be a miss up front for him, but they still have young duo Keinan Davis and Brennan Johnson, both of whom are threats in their own right. The displays of versatile right-sided Djed Spence have also caught the eye of many visiting scouts along with Philip Zinckernagel in the hole. The Danish playmaker will hope to succeed where many have failed, up against a supremely well-balanced visiting midfield three.
Min-maxing
Having narrowed the gap between themselves and leaders Manchester City to a single point, as well as being in the quarter finals of the Champions League, Jürgen Klopp could be forgiven for deprioritising the FA Cup. It's likely there'll be a degree of rotation for their trip eastwards, but the XI will still be replete with quality. The likes of Caoimhín Kelleher, Ibrahima Konaté, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, and Takumi Minamino could come in. The latter has been a cup specialist this term, bagging the brace that saw his side book passage to this round of the tournament.
Betting tip
Given that the Japanese forward has notched nine in just over 720 minutes of club football this term, odds of 2.60 for him to score anytime with bet365 look favourable.
