With mounting pressure after a disappointing run of five winless games, the Reds have resolutely silenced their critics by thrashing lacklustre Leeds 6-1 in the last round. They looked very much like the old Liverpool at Elland Road, and the remaining part of the Premier League season is likely to follow that example if they want to salvage something meaningful, given they are still six points off the European spots. It’s almost unthinkable for Anfield not to see European football, so Jurgen Klopp’s men are back home to continue accumulating points, something they are used to, having lost only one of their last 37 home league matches. This is likely to instill fear into Nottingham Forest, as will the fact that the Reds have not lost any of their last 25 home matches. Nonetheless, the 0-1 defeat in the reverse fixture in October shows that nothing can be taken for granted. Thirteen wins and eight draws correspond to 47 points and the eighth position in the table. Ramsey, Keita, and Matip, who has a muscle injury, will not take the football pitch today.
It is very dangerous when you encounter a wounded animal occupying the departure gate, and this is exactly the situation Nottingham Forest finds itself in at the moment after a unsuccessful streak of ten matches without a win. They have conceded in each of these games, meaning that coach Steve Cooper has only celebrated a league win this season when his team has kept a clean sheet. If Cooper somehow manages to solve the defensive issues, it will be a truly historic event, as only two teams ever promoted have completed a Premier League double over Liverpool. Forest’s last double over the Reds came in the 1962/63 season. Today’s form certainly rules out the chances of a historic victory as unlikely, as the six points and five goals scored by Forest in away matches in the EPL this season are the lowest in the league. Colback, Krovinovic, Yates, Wood, Henderson, Boli, and Oriol will not be able to take to the football field, with the latter suffering from an injury.
