After three successive defeats, Nottingham Forest will be looking to get their season back on track as they face Fulham in the Premier League.
After losing 2-0 and 6-0 to Tottenham and Manchester City respectively, Forest made it three defeats on the bounce last time out, relinquishing their 2-0 lead at home to Bournemouth as they ultimately suffered a 3-2 defeat. That result means Forest have now conceded 11 goals in the three losses, an issue which Steve Cooper will be looking to fix immediately.
But, after a 12-day period of no football due to last weekend's Premier League fixtures being postponed, Forest will be hoping they can find victory against Fulham. The Cottagers have started the season well after gaining promotion with Forest, with only Erling Haaland having scored more goals than striker Aleksandar Mitrovic in the league so far.
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Moussa Niakhate, Omar Richards and Orel Mangala are all set to be missing from the clash with Fulham, with the latter having picked up a minor setback on his return to training. So, could Forest end their losing streak against Fulham on Friday night? We simulated the game to predict the outcome.
Nottingham Forest vs Fulham score predicted by simulation
To run this simulation, we used FIFA 22, updating the squads with the latest transfers made in this window. Both sides lined up in their 2021/22 kits as FIFA 22 does not provide the 2022/23 ones.
We predict that Nottingham Forest will line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Henderson; Worrall, Boly, McKenna; Williams, Yates, O'Brien, Lodi; Johnson, Lingard, Gibbs-White.
We predict that the Cottagers will line up in a 4-4-2 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Mbabu; Reed, Palhinha; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Kebano; Mitrovic.
Fulham started the opening stages on top, with the visitors causing problems for the Forest defence. Dean Henderson made a great save to deny Mitrovic in the opening three minutes, but the 'keeper was unable to stop him on his second attempt moments later.
After picking up possession in midfield, Andreas Pereira slipped Mitrovic through on goal with a great pass into the box. The Serbian cut onto his right foot before curling a powerful effort into the top right corner, leaving Henderson with no chance.
The goal seemed to act as a wake-up call for Forest, and Cooper's side were handed a massive boost just before the break when Kenny Tete received a straight red card for bringing down Brennan Johnson on the counter attack. Against 10 men, Forest created loads of chances, and their biggest opportunity came when Jesse Lingard was fouled in the box and a penalty was awarded.
A through ball from Lewis O'Brien saw Lingard and Bernd Leno race to meet the ball inside the box, and the Forest forward beat the 'keeper to the ball, being brought down in the process. Johnson stepped up, and despite Leno diving the wrong way, the Welsh international skewed his shot wide of the post.
The pressure continued at the City Ground from Forest, with Leno maintaining Fulham's Leeds with some fantastic saves. But, after a mistake in midfield from the visitors, Cooper's side found the equaliser with two minutes remaining.
Paulinha was dispossessed in midfield by substitute Cheikhou Kouyate, and the Senegal international spotted Johnson's bursting run forward with a great pass into the box. The forward took the ball in his stride before rifling his effort across goal and into the net.
Full-time: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Fulham
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that Forest could earn a well-deserved point against Fulham on Friday night, but the simulation suggests that Cooper's side may end the game feeling frustrated not to have earned all three points. Forest missed a penalty whilst 10-men Fulham made 12 saves in the clash, potentially suggesting that in the real game, Forest could pick up a win if they are to take their chances.
What do you think the score could be on Friday evening? Let us know in the comments below!
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