Liverpool welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield on Saturday afternoon for a gameweek two clash in the English Premier League.
Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest
Saturday 29 August, 12:30pm
Anfield
Liverpool made an underwhelming start to life under Andoni Iraola in their first competitive match under the new boss last weekend, having to twice come from behind to snatch a 2-2 draw with Newcastle United.
The Reds looked vulnerable throughout the match and were fortunate to escape St James’ Park with a draw, as Lewis Hall was penalised for a foul on Victor Munoz inside the penalty area in stoppage time, with Dominik Szoboszlai scoring the subsequent penalty.
Although they did look defensively vulnerable, that came with the exchange of looking threatening going forward, including accruing an impressive expected goals (xG) total of 2.98, compared to Newcastle’s 1.58xG.
Desperate to build on the late draw by securing a victory in their first match at Anfield under their new manager, Liverpool will welcome a Nottingham Forest side who have had a miserable start to the new term.
Nottingham Forest, under new manager Oliver Glasner, have lost each of their opening two fixtures, 1-0 to Leeds United in the English Premier League and 2-0 to Leeds United in the EFL Cup.
The latest defeat in the EFL Cup even sparked boos from some sections of the City Ground, leaving the pressure already starting to build on Forest’s new manager.
Forest will draw confidence from their recent record at Anfield, having won each of their last two visits to Liverpool’s iconic home, including a 1-0 win in 2024 and a fantastic 3-0 victory last season.
Team News
Liverpool have numerous injury concerns, including Vitezslav Jaros, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez, Stefan Bajcetic and Hugo Ekitike, although no new injury issues have arisen.
A front four of Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz and Rio Ngumoha is likely to start again, although summer signing Munoz is certainly pushing for a starting place after winning the penalty last weekend.
Meanwhile, Forest remain without Nicolo Savona and Ryan Yates due to injuries, while Neco Williams may be a doubt after coming off injured in the EFL Cup defeat.
Luca Netz could replace Williams at left-wing-back, while Murillo could also join Ola Aina, Ousmane Diomande and Nikola Milenkovic in the back five.
Liverpool Predicted XI: Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch; Ngumoha, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak
Nottingham Forest Predicted XI: Sels; Diomande, Milenkovic, Murillo; Aina, Schlager, Sangare, Netz; Ndoye, Gibbs-White; Wood
Bet9ja Tips
Although Forest have a superb recent record at Anfield, Liverpool remain the overwhelming favourites to claim all three points in this one, especially as the visitors head into this game off the back of two straight defeats. You can get odds of Liverpool to win of 1.56 with Bet9ja – 5P8SD9P
Isak had several chances in the draw with Newcastle but was unable to convert in his usual clinical matter, and we are backing the Swedish striker to be back to his best in front of goal on Saturday, leading us to predict Isak to get on the scoresheet. You can get odds of Isak to score anytime of 2.25 with Bet9ja – 5P8SJ27
Bet9ja Odds (at time of writing): Liverpool win: 1.56, Draw: 4.50, Nottingham Forest win: 5.60
