Nottingham Forest will host Southampton at the City Ground on Sunday, looking to continue their impressive run of form.
Nottingham Forest were held to a draw vs Liverpool last time, but they have been excellent with their performances as they get set to welcome Southampton at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon. The Tricky Trees have picked up five wins from their last six Premier League matches.
On the other hand, Southampton are going through a terrible run of form. The Saints have lost five of their six league games, and they are at the bottom of the Premier League table with just one win from 21 league matches. The horrendous campaign has already seen one casualty, with Russell Martin sacked a few weeks ago.
Southampton are the favourites to go down this season, and they need a massive slice of luck to things. It will be interesting to see if they can grind out a positive result here. It could give them a huge confidence boost.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are in the Premier League top three right now, and they will look to continue their push for European qualification. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men are full of confidence and momentum right now, and they will look to pick up a comprehensive victory here.
Team News & Tactics
Nottingham Forest
Ibrahim Sangare is ruled out due to a thigh injury. Nottingham Forest will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Southampton, with Matz Sels in goal. Neco Williams and Ola Aina will start as the full-backs, and they will look to help out at both ends of the pitch. Nikola Milenkovic will start alongside Murillo at the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, Ryan Yates will start alongside Elliot Anderson in the double pivot, and they will look to add defensive cover and control to the side. Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi will look to add pace, flair and goals to the side from the wide areas.
Morgan Gibbs-White will start as the attacking midfielder, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates. Finally, Chris Wood will lead the line for Nottingham Forest vs Southampton on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Southampton
Southampton will be without Ross Stewart due to a calf injury, while Jack Stephens misses out with a knock. The away side will shape up in a 3-5-2 formation, with Aaron Ramsdale in goal.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis will start alongside Jan Bednarek and Nathan Wood in the back three. The central defensive trifecta are up against quality attackers this week, and they will need to step up their performance levels to notify the threat from Nottingham Forest.
Yukinari Sugawara and Kyle Walker-Peters will start as the wing-backs. They will look to keep things tight at the back and hit Nottingham on the break. Joe Aribo will start alongside Flynn Downes and Lesley Ugochukwu in the middle of the park. They will look to add physicality, defensive cover and drive to the side. Adam Armstrong will start alongside Ben Brereton Diaz in the attack.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Wood; Sugawara, Aribo, Ugochukwu, Downes, Walker-Peters; Armstrong, Diaz
Key Stats
- Southampton have lost seven of their last eight matches in the Premier League.
- Nottingham Forest have won their last three matches vs Southampton in all competitions.
- Nottingham Forest have won five of their last six Premier League matches.
- Nottingham Forest have kept a clean sheet in five of the last six matches in all competitions.
- 21 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two teams.
Player to Watch
Chris Wood
The Nottingham Forest striker is our key player to watch out for this weekend. The veteran striker has been exceptional in the Premier League this season, and he will look to continue his goal-scoring run against Southampton.
The visitors have been quite vulnerable defensively, and they have conceded 11 goals in their last five matches across all competitions. Wood has the quality to take advantage of their defensive frailties and punish them with his clinical finishing.
Prediction
Nottingham Forest 3-0 Southampton
Nottingham Fores tare the firm favourites heading into this contest, and they should be able to grind out a positive result. Southampton are completely devoid of form and confidence, and they are likely to crash to yet another defeat here.
The home team should be able to pile further misery on them and pick up a comfortable victory in front of their fans. This is a golden opportunity for them to secure UEFA Champions League qualification for the next season, and they will not want to slip up.
