After earning a 0-0 draw against Brighton midweek, Nottingham Forest will be looking for a similar defensive display when they face Liverpool on Saturday.
A solid performance from the Forest backline withheld the aggressive Brighton pressure, earning Forest their second draw in three games and a first clean sheet since the second week of the season. But, a win for Leicester City in their last outing saw the Reds move back to the bottom of the Premier League table, with a win needed very soon for Steve Cooper 's side.
Forest and Liverpool met in last season's FA Cup, with Saturday's opposition snatching a 1-0 win at the City ground. Harry Toffolo was withdrawn late in the draw with Brighton and will miss out on Saturday, whilst Lewis O'Brien is also absent after missing the midweek clash through illness.
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Renan Lodi has also missed the last few games with an injury as the Brazilian is expected to sit out, whilst Moussa Niakhate, Omar Richards and Jack Colback are further guaranteed absentees.
So, how will Cooper's side perform against Liverpool on Saturday? We simulated the game to find out. To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We simulated Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool to get a score prediction
We predict that Forest could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Henderson; Aurier, Cook, McKenna, Williams; Mangala, Yates, Freuler; Johnson, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White.
We predict that Liverpool could line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson: Fabinho, Henderson; Elliott, Firmino, Carvalho; Nunez.
Despite looking a much better side defensively in recent weeks, Forest were undone twice in the opening 15 minutes of the game against Liverpool, with Darwin Nunez scoring twice. The first of his goals saw the striker beat Steve Cook to a header at the near post, whilst he easily shrugged off Scott McKenna for the second as he scored an impressive half-volley from just inside the box.
Forest contained the threat from Liverpool for the rest of the half, but a Roberto Firmino header and a close-range finish in the opening stages of the second half saw Liverpool go four goals ahead before the hour mark. Any chances of a comeback were incredibly thin for Forest, but they did pull a goal back through Taiwo Awoniyi.
Against his former club, Awoniyi beat Virgil van Dijk in a 50/50 to meet a long ball over the top before surging towards the goal. A heavy touch prompted Alisson to come off his line, but the striker smartly lobbed the 'keeper with a fantastic finish to make it 4-1.
Moments later, Forest came close to grabbing a second as Brennan Johnson intercepted a loose pass deep in the Liverpool half, but his curling effort from close range hit the outside of the post. Forest looked the better side for the final 15 minutes, but Liverpool managed to grab a fifth with minutes remaining to make it 5-1.
Mohamed Salah darted down the right side of the pitch before skipping past three defenders with ease. The Egyptian picked out Curtis Jones in the box with a driven cross, and the midfielder beat Serge Aurier to the ball, striking a powerful effort into the top corner to top off a poor afternoon for Forest.
FIFA 23 predicted final score: Nottingham Forest 1-5 Liverpool
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that Nottingham Forest could have a torrid afternoon against Liverpool on Saturday, with the simulation predicting a 5-1 battering for Steve Cooper's side. The Reds couldn't handle Darwin Nunez who set the tone of the game as he put Liverpool 2-0 up in the early stages, ultimately snatching any hope of a win from Forest in just 15 minutes.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments below.
