Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest Prediction, Tips and Odds | Premier League

Andoni Iraola takes charge of his first match at Anfield on Saturday lunchtime, with the new Liverpool manager under immediate pressure to deliver a performance that matches the promise of his appointment after a chaotic 2-2 draw at Newcastle in Gameweek 1. Liverpool generated 27 shots and an xG of 2.73 at St James' Park without ever looking comfortable defensively, and the Spaniard will want his side to demonstrate more control in front of a home crowd expecting the kind of relentless attacking football that defined his Bournemouth tenure.

Oliver Glasner, beginning his own rebuild at Nottingham Forest after replacing Vitor Pereira as the fifth manager in approximately 12 months, arrives without a goal or a point from two competitive matches against Leeds, who beat Forest 1-0 in the best gambling sites football Premier League opener and 2-0 in the Carabao Cup. Forest are a side in transition, with several summer signings still waiting for their first starts, and the fixture list has offered them no respite.

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest form and preview

Liverpool finished fifth last season on 60 points, a 25-point gap behind champions Arsenal, and the scale of that regression from the title-winning campaign of 2024/25 cost Arne Slot his position at the end of May. Iraola was appointed on the strength of a remarkable run at Bournemouth, where he guided the club to a sixth-place finish, their highest ever in the top flight, and European qualification for the first time in the club's history.

The opening-day draw at Newcastle offered a snapshot of the contradictions within this Liverpool squad. Cody Gakpo's long-range equaliser in the 55th minute and Dominik Szoboszlai's 99th-minute penalty demonstrated resilience and individual quality, but Anthony Elanga's fifth-minute opener and Joe Willock's goal just 176 seconds after Gakpo's leveller exposed a structural vulnerability that Iraola must address before facing stronger opposition.

Florian Wirtz, now in his second season at Anfield after his record move from Bayer Leverkusen, contributed five goals and 57 key passes in 33 Premier League appearances last season. Iraola's 4-2-3-1 positions the German international as the central creative fulcrum, a role that demands more defensive contribution during pressing sequences than Wirtz was required to offer under Slot.

Alexander Isak, signed from Newcastle in a British record deal, missed a quiet afternoon on his return to St James' Park and will be eager to open his competitive account at Anfield, where the atmosphere and the quality of the pitch suit the kind of movement between the lines that made him one of the Premier League's most effective strikers last season.

Liverpool's last five results across all competitions read two defeats, a draw, a win and a draw, producing eight goals scored and nine conceded, and not a single clean sheet in that sequence. Iraola inherited a team that had forgotten how to win league matches, and nothing at Newcastle suggested that problem has been solved in pre-season.

Forest finished 16th on 44 points last season, surviving relegation despite changing manager four times in a single campaign. Nuno Espirito Santo lasted until early September, Ange Postecoglou was dismissed in October, Sean Dyche departed in February and Vitor Pereira oversaw the run-in. Glasner, who won the FA Cup and the Conference League across two seasons at Crystal Palace, represents the club's best attempt at sustained stability since the Nuno era.

The Gameweek 1 defeat to Leeds was frustrating rather than alarming. Forest generated the higher xG (0.65 to 0.49), had 55 per cent of the possession and created three good headed opportunities through Igor Jesus and Nikola Milenkovic, the latter striking the post. Anton Stach's 88th-minute free kick, which beat Matz Sels at his near post, was the decisive moment in a match Forest did enough to draw.

Glasner's problem is integration time. Ousmane Diomande and Xaver Schlager, recruited specifically to reshape the spine of the team, both began on the bench against Leeds. The 3-4-2-1 system Glasner wants to implement is not yet the system this squad is comfortable executing, and the transition from Pereira's approach will take weeks rather than days.

Forest did produce some strong late-season form under Pereira, winning three of their final six league matches, drawing two and losing one, including a 5-0 demolition of Sunderland away and a 3-1 win over Chelsea at the City Ground. Morgan Gibbs-White, who scored 15 Premier League goals and 18 in all competitions last season, was the driving force behind that run, and those interested in the new UK betting sites will find his fitness a significant factor in the odds.

The contrast in squad quality, particularly in the forward positions, favours Liverpool heavily. Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak and the emerging Rio Ngumoha represent a level of attacking depth that Forest cannot match, even when fully fit. Whether that quality translates into defensive solidity under Iraola's system is the open question.

Team news: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest

Liverpool

Iraola confirmed on Wednesday that Chiesa is unavailable after sustaining a back injury in a pre-season friendly against Como, with a return expected around 4 September. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez and Jayden Danns all remain sidelined with longer-term injuries that significantly reduce the depth available across defence and attack.

Curtis Jones has finalised his move to Inter Milan and Stefan Bajcetic is anticipated to depart before the transfer window closes despite training with the squad. The starting eleven is expected to be unchanged from the Newcastle draw, with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez continuing as full-backs and the Gravenberch-Szoboszlai double pivot retained at the base of midfield.

Ronald Araujo and Victor Munoz, both summer arrivals, came off the bench at St James' Park, and the latter won the penalty that Szoboszlai converted in the ninth minute of stoppage time. Araujo could push for a start alongside Virgil van Dijk in central defence if Iraola wants greater experience at the back.

Nottingham Forest

Glasner receives a significant boost with the availability of Morgan Gibbs-White, who has recovered from the ankle and MCL problem sustained against Leeds. Gibbs-White scored 15 of Forest's 48 Premier League goals last season, accounting for nearly a third of the team's entire output, and his return to the starting line-up gives Forest a creative presence capable of exploiting the defensive gaps Liverpool showed at Newcastle.

Ryan Yates is also fit and available, providing Glasner with additional midfield options following Ibrahim Sangare's calf injury. Neco Williams remains rated at 50 per cent with a knock sustained in the midweek Carabao Cup defeat. If Williams is unavailable, Ola Aina would likely cover at right wing-back.

Liam Delap, signed from Chelsea for approximately £50 million, has completed his move and could be involved. Glasner may judge the limited training time a reason to introduce him from the bench rather than hand him an immediate start at Anfield, though Forest's goalless run across two competitive matches adds urgency to the need for a focal point in attack. Readers looking for the latest sports free bets offers ahead of the weekend will find plenty of markets shaped by these selection calls.

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest predicted XIs

Predicted Liverpool XI (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Ngumoha, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak

Predicted Nottingham Forest XI (3-4-2-1): Sels; Morato, Milenkovic, Murillo; Aina, Yates, Schlager, N Williams; Gibbs-White, Jesus; Delap

Head-to-head: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest

The aggregate record between these sides since Forest's return to the top flight in 2022 reads four Liverpool wins, three Forest wins and one draw from eight Premier League meetings. The competitive balance is unusual for a fixture between a perennial top-six club and one that has spent most of the past two decades outside the division, and Forest have won more Premier League matches against Liverpool (three) than against any other side since promotion.

Anfield specifically has been a productive ground for Forest. Glasner's side won 1-0 there in September 2024 and produced a stunning 3-0 result in November 2025, a match in which Murillo opened the scoring against the hosts. Liverpool ended that Anfield losing streak with a 1-0 win at the City Ground in February 2026, courtesy of Alexis Mac Allister's 97th-minute winner, but the pattern at Anfield favours the visitors more than most expect.

Five of the eight meetings have produced fewer than three goals. Only two saw both teams score. The low-scoring trend is consistent with Forest's defensive approach in this fixture, which has typically involved ceding territory and attacking in transition rather than competing for sustained possession.

For those who follow our Ladbrokes sportsbook review, this head-to-head record is worth factoring into the goalscoring markets, though the recent H2H results are best understood as context rather than as direct predictors of Saturday's outcome, given the managerial changes on both sides.

Our Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest prediction and tips