LIVERPOOL'S title challenge faces a stern test at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Forest are only one place above the relegation drop zone – just four points clear of nearest-placed Luton Town who have a game in hand.
So they could really be doing with getting something out of Liverpool.
They ended a horror run in the league with a recent win over West Ham, but then went down to a defeat at Aston Villa last week. But they have a reasonable home record and have defeated Manchester United and Villa at the City Ground.
Liverpool remain a point clear of Manchester City at the top and handed departing manager Jurgen Klopp a Carabao Cup farewell gift with a win against Chelsea last week.
Both sides were in midweek FA Cup action and Liverpool showed their depth of squad rotation when a very young team proved too strong for Championship promotion-chasers Southampton in a 3-0 win.
However, they have a lot of injuries and were missing key trio Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai in midweek. Klopp claimed he doesn't know whether any of them will be fit enough to make the trip to Nottingham.
But Forest were sickened by a last minute Casemiro goal which bundled them out of the competition at the City Ground as they lost 1-0 to Manchester United.
How the bookies view it
Liverpool are solid odds-on favourites as expected at 8/15 with William Hill's.
Nottingham Forest can be backed at 5/1 with bet365 and the draw is 7/2 with Paddy Power.
Recent head to heads
Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 home win in October, but came a cropper at the City Ground last season in a 1-0 defeat and the visitors have a curiously poor league record there – they haven't won on their last 13 league visits there since 1984! Although they did win an FA Cup tie there two years ago.
Players to watch
Liverpool have a lot of injury problems as stated and there are plenty who will be touch and go up until kick off. Luis Diaz should certainly start though and he is 23/10 to score with BetVictor.
Morgan Gibbs-White scored last week against Aston Villa and it was his third goal this year. He is 11/2 to score anytime with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
Liverpool have proved on countless occasions they have the know-how to shrug off a depleted squad and get the job done. But it's unlikely to be a rout against a Forest side who will make it tough for them.
And it's worth backing them to edge out Forest by one goal at 3/1 with bet365.
Forest's midweek loss to United was the first time in eight home games they have failed to score. They scored against Arsenal, United and Aston Villa at home in the league so go for a Liverpool win and both teams to score at 17/10 with William Hill's.
This English Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool will be played on Mar 2, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
