Astonishingly separated by 35 points in the mid-season Premier League rankings, genuine title contenders Nottingham Forest and basement boys Southampton collide in Sunday's clash at the City Ground.
Nuno Espirito Santo's men took a creditable point off of Liverpool in Tuesday's 1-1 draw, two days before the Saints were cruelly slain 3-1 by Manchester United.
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Many observers expect Forest to roll Southampton over on Sunday lunchtime, and that's an outcome that would suit anyone getting involved in this Parimatch UK promo deal. They've put up special odds of 50/1 for pre-match bets on the home side, which is of course much higher than the 4/11 standard odds that are available. Opt in is required and you can find full details at the link below.
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Match preview
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Nottingham Forest vs. Liverpool being a top-of-the-table encounter may not have been too shocking a sight in the 1970s and 1980s, but the two red-clad teams are remarkably among the chief contenders for glory in 2024-25, and their close contest in midweek suggested as such.
The irrepressible Chris Wood needed just eight minutes to bank his 13th goal of the Premier League season, but the Tricky Trees were then undone by an unprecedented Liverpool goal, as Kostas Tsimikas's first-touch corner landed on Diogo Jota's head for a first-touch equaliser.
A rare Premier League loss could have also come Forest's way were it not for the magnificent interventions of Matz Sels and Murillo at the back, but Tuesday's draw - while snapping their seven-game winless sequence - temporarily lifted them up to second in the standings before Arsenal leapfrogged them again.
Furthermore, that singular point from the midweek showdown against Liverpool means that Forest have taken more points than any other Premier League team since the beginning of December - 19 from an available 24 - and Jota's leveller was the first goal that Santo's side had shipped in over seven hours of football.
At the other end of the pitch, the Tricky Trees have maintained a commitment to fast starts by scoring the first goal in 17 different Premier League games this season - unsurprisingly a league high - and only Fulham have prevented Forest from netting at home in 2024-25 thus far.
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Speaking of scoring first, Southampton's gutsy first-half display at Old Trafford was rewarded when Manuel Ugarte turned the ball past his own goalkeeper, who was the sole reason that Man United did not go into the half-time interval even further behind.
Few Red Devils fans could have complained if Ivan Juric's side travelled home with all three points in the bag, but not for the first time this season, Amad Diallo broke opposition hearts, scoring a sensational 12-minute hat-trick to crush Southampton's hopes of just a second Premier League victory of the campaign.
While no points could be taken home from the Theatre of Dreams, the Saints could certainly take some heart from their positive display on hostile territory, and they would have remained rooted to the foot of the division even if they had come up trumps in midweek.
With 10 points separating them from Santo's former club Wolverhampton Wanderers in 17th place, Juric's survival job appears to be a taller order by the week, and the visitors remain the only team in the top flight with no successes on the road this season.
To make matters worse, Southampton have come out on the wrong end of the scoreline in each of their last three games against Nottingham Forest and have not got the better of the Tricky Trees since a Championship clash in 2012, where Morgan Schneiderlin was among the Saints scorers.
Team News
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Despite making his return from a long-term ankle injury in the recent FA Cup win over Luton Town, Danilo did not make the matchday squad for the showdown with Liverpool, although there is no suggestion that he has picked up a new concern.
As a result, the hosts' only absentee for Sunday's showdown should be Ibrahim Sangare, whose hamstring issue is not expected to clear up for another month, leaving Santo with plentiful options for change yet again.
However, the Forest boss should be loath to make any changes to the midweek formula, meaning that long-serving Southampton man James Ward-Prowse can only hope for minutes off the bench against his former club.
Meanwhile, much-coveted Southampton wonderkid Tyler Dibling had to be forced off with just over an hour played on Thursday evening owing to an ankle injury, one which has thrown his participation for Sunday's game into severe doubt.
Jack Stephens (unspecified) and Ross Stewart (calf) are also unavailable to Juric, who sent on Will Smallbone to replace Dibling against Man United, albeit while his side were trying to protect a 1-0 lead.
If the Man United-linked attacker is ruled out of this clash, one of Paul Onuachu, Cameron Archer or Adam Armstrong should instead link arms with Kamaldeen Sulemana in the final third.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Wood, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis; Sugawara, Downes, Ugochukwu, Walker-Peters; Fernandes; Onuachu, Sulemana
We say: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Southampton
Not since their days in the second tier in 1935 have Southampton been beaten in four straight matches against Nottingham Forest, but that sequence will surely be snapped at the City Ground.
The hosts are working with two days' more rest, while their visitors have concerns over the fitness of their star name in attack, so another Tricky Trees success is the only outcome we can envisage.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
