Preview: Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest
Liverpool are on the hunt for three wins in a row when Nottingham Forest come to visit.
LIVERPOOL VS. NOTTINGHAM FOREST
| Sunday, October 29th |
Premier League | Anfield
2PM GMT/10AM EST
Liverpool are fresh off of their most convincing win of the season, a 5-1 trouncing of Ligue 1 team Toulouse in the Europa League. It’s back to the Premier League on Sunday with a game against Nottingham Forest. If they win, it will be their third victory in a row in a competitions, and they may finally be hitting their stride.
The big news is that vice-captain Andy Robertson will be out for at least the rest of the calendar year as he recovers from a successful surgery after dislocating his shoulder during international duty. That means Kostas Tsimikas will get an extended run of games to prove himself on the wing.
Curtis Jones sits out his final game to complete his three game red card ban this weekend. Jürgen Klopp kept him active with a start in Europe on Thursday, and he will be back in contention next weekend.
Making his return for the Reds on Thursday was Cody Gakpo. The attacker came on in the 67th minute for the first time since September.
Forest currently sit in 15th place having dropped a 2-0 lead over Luton in the final 10 minutes to end the game with a disappointing draw. However, the takeaway from that match was the danger posed by the combination of Chris Wood and Anthony Elanga who combined for both of Forest’s goals.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Núñez, Diaz
With Jones out, we are likely to once again see the all new midfield combo of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, and Ryan Gravenberch working together. Darwin Núñez didn’t start in the Merseyside Derby, but could return to the attacking three after some recent strong substitute performances.
In addition to the absences of Robertson and Jones, Thiago Alcantara, Ben Doak, and Stefan Bajcetic are all still missing.
For Nottingham Forest, Divock Origi will not get his Anfield return, being out injured. Also not available will be another former Red, Taiwo Awoniyi, Nuno Tavares, Felipe, Gonzalo Montiel, Danilo, Callum Hudson-Odoi. Elanga is a doubt due to illness.
What the Managers Had to Say
Jürgen Klopp: “I think it’s clear for Nottingham, they want to stay in the league and then progress from there. That’s what they are doing at the moment. In a super tricky Premier League, they pick [up] their points.”
Steve Cooper: “You can play well or poorly in games gone by and it doesn’t mean anything is going to be a certain way in the next game. We’ve just got to go to Liverpool of course respecting them and all that goes with playing Liverpool away, while really backing ourselves to play at the level. If we do that, we give ourselves the best chance of getting a result.”
The Officials
Referee: Chris Kavanagh. Assistants: Richard West, Matthew Wilkes. Fourth official: Matt Donohue. VAR: Andy Madley. Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard.
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