Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool: Liverpool Aim to Build Momentum Ahead of World Cup

• Liverpool have won back-to-back home games heading into this trip to the City Ground
• Nottingham Forest are in a precarious position with just one win to their name so far
• Liverpool can inflict further misery on Steve Cooper’s side in Saturday’s early kick-off

Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool Odds

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Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool Pick

The Reds are showing signs that they may have turned a corner and they should win this match comfortably if they are anywhere near their best.

Back Liverpool to win both halves when they take on Nottingham Forest this weekend. (+140)

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Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool Predictions

Back-To-Back Wins Should Give Liverpool Renewed Belief

After a 3-1 defeat by Arsenal earlier this month, Jurgen Klopp conceded that Liverpool were out of the Premier League title race. Runners-up last term and the second-favorites to finish top of the table before a ball had been kicked this season, a record of just two wins in their first eight games left the Reds with a mountain to climb.

It would take an astonishing sequence of results for Liverpool to defy Klopp and win the title from here, but the mood at Anfield is considerably brighter after back-to-back top-flight wins (plus a 7-1 shellacking of Rangers in the Champions League) since that loss at the Emirates Stadium.

Liverpool beat Manchester City 1-0 on Sunday, with Mohamed Salah scoring the only goal of the game. They followed that up with another 1-0 triumph over West Ham United in midweek. David Moyes’ men arguably deserved a point on the balance of play, but Liverpool managed to keep them out after Darwin Nunez gave the hosts the lead in the first half.

There is still room for improvement. The 4-4-2 formation Klopp has settled on for the time being feels like a temporary measure. It at times resembles more of a 4-2-4, and the consequent danger is that Liverpool are liable to get overrun in the center of the park.

The system has brought results in the last few days, but Klopp will no doubt aim to return to the 4-3-3 in the medium term.

The 2022 World Cup is less than a month away, with just four rounds of Premier League fixtures to go before the break. Liverpool will face Forest, Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton in that time, and Klopp will want to take at least 10 points from those matches in order to close the gap to the top four.

Forest Still Trying to Find the Right Blend After Summer Splurge

By signing 23 new players in the summer transfer window, Nottingham Forest shattered a Premier League record. A team that relied heavily on loan players last season was always going to be active in the pfe-season market, but Forest took things too far - and they are now paying the price.

Unsurprisingly, Steve Cooper has struggled to gel a new-look squad together. Forest have displayed little coherence so far, and with one win to their name after 10 games they are the outright favorites for relegation.

Winning the EFL Championship play-offs was a fantastic achievement last term, especially as Forest were in the bottom three when Cooper took charge in September. The Welshman remains a hugely popular figure at the City Ground, and the club’s fans were delighted to see him handed a new contract earlier this month.

However, Cooper is likely to come under renewed pressure unless results improve soon. That would be somewhat unfair; after all, the manager was not the one who sanctioned 23 summer deals. But in soccer, it is usually the head coach who pays the ultimate price in situations like this.

Forest gave Liverpool a tough game in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season, narrowly losing 1-0 at the City Ground. They will hope to be just as competitive this time around, but it will probably be a struggle for a team that is low on confidence.

Liverpool Should Take Advantage of Forest’s Incoherence

Forest fans did not really expect to be in the Premier League this season and they remain fully behind the team and, in particular, Cooper. There will be a fantastic atmosphere at the City Ground in the early kick-off on Saturday, and the club’s supporters will hope that the players will rise to the occasion.

Liverpool’s confidence may still be a little brittle after their difficult start to the campaign, and it would be interesting to see how they would react to conceding the first goal in this one. More likely, though, is that the Reds draw first blood.

Forest were somewhat fortunate to keep a clean sheet against Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday - and besides, that was only their second shut-out of the campaign. They are conceding more than two goals per game on average, and another worry is that Forest seem to grow weaker as matches wear on: they have not won a single second half this term.

Liverpool will see this as an opportunity to both register an emphatic victory and win a third Premier League game on the bounce for the first time this season. Unfortunately for the home team, Forest will struggle to stop them. Put some money on Liverpool winning both halves in Nottingham on Saturday.

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