Having both come away from their midweek Premier League games with their heads held high, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool prepare for battle in Saturday lunchtime's contest at the City Ground.
The Tricky Trees held Brighton & Hove Albion to a goalless draw on Tuesday, 24 hours before Jurgen Klopp's side overcame West Ham United by a goal to nil.
Match preview
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It took a Ruben Neves penalty for Wolverhampton Wanderers to get the better of a dogged Nottingham Forest side last weekend, and Steve Cooper's side continued their newfound defensive resilience at the Amex, holding Brighton to a 0-0 draw on the South Coast.
To the agony of fantasy football managers everywhere, Leandro Trossard crashed an effort against the woodwork, and Dean Henderson was kept busy on a positive evening for the Tricky Trees, whose position in the Premier League table is still fragile.
Having now gone eight games in the top flight without a win, Nottingham Forest remain below the dotted line in 19th but at least managed to lift themselves off the bottom of the table over Leicester City, who can send Cooper's side back down to 20th against Leeds United later on Thursday.
Cooper insisted that taking a point away from the Amex was a step in the right direction for his team, who are the division's joint second-worst goalscorers with just seven strikes to their name - only Wolves and their paltry five goals rank lower in that category.
Forest fans can be encouraged by the fact that six of their side's seven top-flight goals this season have come at the City Ground, but a tally of four points from five home games represents the worst record in the division so far, and the clouds are slowly starting to disperse for Liverpool.
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While their injury problems are showing no signs of letting up anytime soon, Liverpool have scored first in their last two games and have held on for three points each time, much to the delight of fans who have become accustomed to seeing their side conceding early doors this term.
Prior to coming off before the hour mark, Darwin Nunez put in his finest display in a Liverpool shirt to date, directing a downward header beyond the reach of Lukasz Fabianski in the 22nd minute, but Alisson Becker was forced to keep out a Jarrod Bowen penalty just before the break.
West Ham huffed and puffed but eventually lost 1-0 at Anfield - sharing Manchester City's fate - which has allowed Liverpool to climb up to seventh in the table with 16 points from 10 games and cut the gap to fourth-placed Chelsea down to just four points.
Klopp has now witnessed his team win three successive matches in all competitions for the first time this season, but a tally of just one win from six away games may concern the German somewhat, even if that sole victory saw them put seven past Rangers less than two weeks ago.
Speaking of 1-0 scorelines, a goal from Diogo Jota was all it took for Liverpool to beat Nottingham Forest in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season, and Saturday's game will mark the first Premier League meeting between the two clubs since April 1999, where Michael Owen and Jamie Redknapp scored for the Merseyside outfit in a 2-2 draw.
Team News
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Nottingham Forest trio Jack Colback (back), Moussa Niakhate (thigh) and Omar Richards (calf) are all set to miss out again, while Harry Toffolo picked up a hamstring just 17 minutes after coming on against Brighton in midweek and is missing too. Lewis O'Brien, meanwhile, is still struggling to overcome an illness.
There is optimism over Renan Lodi's availability following an ankle sprain, though, which could see Serge Aurier drop out as Neco Williams shifts over to his favoured right-back role.
Jesse Lingard's place in the XI is certainly at risk this week, as either Emmanuel Dennis or ex-Liverpool youngster Taiwo Awoniyi push for a recall to the attacking line.
As for Liverpool, Jota will not get the chance to replicate his FA Cup success at the City Ground this time, as the Portugal attacker has now been ruled out of the World Cup with the calf injury he sustained in the dying embers against Manchester City.
Klopp's options on the left-hand side are therefore limited with Luis Diaz still out with a knee injury, while Arthur (thigh), Naby Keita (thigh), Joel Matip (calf) and Ibrahima Konate (muscle) are out of contention too.
With a crucial Champions League tie versus Ajax to come, Klopp should not shy away from changes here, and Mohamed Salah's spot could potentially be at risk if the fresh legs of Harvey Elliott are utilized.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Williams, Cook, McKenna, Lodi; Mangala, Yates, Freuler; Gibbs-White, Dennis, Johnson
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Salah, Fabinho, Thiago, Carvalho; Nunez, Firmino
We say: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Liverpool
Forest have been tighter at the back since Cooper made the switch to a four-man defence, but their attacking concerns remain very much alive and could prove costly against a steadfast Liverpool.
One should not expect Klopp's men to score goal after goal as they continue to slowly increase their confidence levels again, but the Merseyside giants should still prevail with minimal difficulty.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
