Arsenal will today look to kick-start their Premier League title bid when they host Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners have endured a frustrating season thus far after coming so close to pipping Manchester City to the top prize last time out and currently sit nine points behind early leaders Liverpool.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ARSENAL VS NOTTINGHAM FOREST LIVE!
Mikel Arteta’s side are without a league victory since early October and were pegged back to a 1-1 draw with Chelsea before the break, extending their winless return four top-flight games.
While this remains an early stage of the campaign, few would doubt that the Gunners can ill afford many more slip-ups. Such are the standards that they, Liverpool and City have set over the years, any more dropped points could prove fatal come May.
Saturday’s opponents in Forest may have lost to Newcastle before the international break but have generally impressed all season under Nuno Espirito Santo, sitting level on points with Arsenal and only one spot behind them on goal difference. Unbeaten on the road, only Liverpool have claimed more points away from home thus far.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest is scheduled for a 3pm GMT kick-off time today, Saturday November 23, 2024.
The Emirates Stadium in north London will host the match.
Where to watch Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest
TV channel and live stream: The game will not be shown live in the UK as it takes place during the 3pm blackout imposed across English football on Saturdays.
Free highlights: Match of the Day will broadcast highlights when it airs at 10:30pm on BBC One on Saturday night.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog, featuring expert analysis from Simon Collings at the Emirates.
Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest team news
Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have both been back in training for Arsenal and should be on track to play after they pulled out of the England squad over the international break.
Riccardo Calafiori is also set to be back in the squad, while Leandro Trossard appears to be fit after an injury scare while playing for Belgium.
Ben White, however, is facing an extended period on the sidelines after knee surgery. Arteta revealed the right-back is set to be out for “a few months”, with Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu also sidelined.
Captain Martin Odegaard should be fit to start again after not going away with Norway on international duty, while Raheem Sterling is available after being ineligible to face parent club Chelsea.
Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare are Forest's only known injury absentees, but after players spread out over the globe during the international break, a number of them will need to be assessed before the weekend - including Elliot Anderson.
"Those two are definitely out and cannot be involved," manager Nuno said. "We have some other situations to manage and decide. We still have (Ramon) Sosa to arrive, because he plays later (for Paraguay). The rest of them are here and, for now, okay.
"We are just managing some players and some situations. As we mentioned before, we took the chance of the international break to recover some players. Let's wait and see if they improve."
Ola Aina is expected to be fit despite returning early from international duty with Nigeria. The full-back played 83 minutes of Thursday's 1-1 draw with Benin before being withdrawn.
Aina reportedly had an agreement in place to return early if Nigeria's place at the Africa Cup of Nations had been secured, and last week's draw was enough for them to qualify before playing Rwanda on Monday.
Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest prediction
Arsenal have not lost at home so far this season, while Forest have impressed on the road. With that in mind, it would not be a surprise to see the spoils shared this weekend.
Draw, 1-1.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Arsenal wins: 54
Draws: 22
Nottingham Forest wins: 29
Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest odds
Arsenal to win: 4/11
Draw: 4/1
Nottingham Forest to win: 8/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
