Are Forest the real deal or simply overachievers?
Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool, Tuesday, kick-off 8pm
It was only four months ago that Nottingham Forest inflicted the only blemish on Arne Slot’s otherwise near-perfect Premier League record. Liverpool have also drawn four games, but their only loss came at Anfield in September, and the manner in which it happened clearly hurt Slot.
He believed – as a newcomer to the league – that Forest, a team who finished 17th last season, should not be challenging his title-chasers on home turf. Perhaps he’s right. The result was viewed unilaterally as a major shock and Slot himself called it “a big setback”.
Much has happened since then to alter perception, however. Slot’s attitude has certainly softened: “For us to lose on that day was, for me, hard to take,” he said on Monday. “Now, looking back and seeing where they are in the league, it has not been such a shock.”
Forest have won each of their last six Premier League games, while a win over Liverpool would equal their longest ever winning run. They are currently equal on points with hotly-tipped Arsenal. And they have registered more wins than any other team except leaders Liverpool.
Their respective positions in the table mean this fixture conjures up memories of the late 1970s, early 1980s when Liverpool and Forest were at the peak of their powers together. Clearly Slot’s Reds remain modern-day juggernauts, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s surprise contenders are beginning to hark back to their golden age.
Forest are this season’s overachievers, yes, but should they produce another upset to dent Liverpool’s charge towards Premier League silverware, they may well consider themselves officially in the running too.
Laura Hunter
Man City can’t afford another Brentford scare
Brentford vs Man City, Tuesday, kick-off 7.30pm
