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

Nottingham Forest's defensive crisis could not have arrived at a worse time, with the reigning Premier League champions due at the City Ground on Sunday, 18 October 2026. Nikola Milenkovic is a doubt with a bone bruise, Nicolo Savona is out indefinitely after knee surgery, and Morgan Gibbs-White's minor muscle injury could prove the bigger loss of the three, leaving Oliver Glasner, five months into the job, to patch together his side against the division's form side.

Glasner is already Forest's fifth permanent manager in little over a year, and a fourth defeat in seven Premier League games would pile further pressure on a side sitting 15th with five points. Arsenal, by contrast, travel second on 15 points on the back of a new contract for Mikel Arteta through June 2030, after delivering the club's first title in 22 years.

Preview: Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal

Forest have won just once in six league matches this season, a 2-1 win at Aston Villa on 12 September, either side of a goalless home draw with Tottenham Hotspur and a 1-0 home defeat to Coventry City. Their most recent outing brought a 3-1 defeat away at Crystal Palace on 11 October.

Dan Ndoye is the closest thing Forest have to a reliable source of goals, his two strikes from six appearances making him the club's top scorer this season. That return looks modest next to Arsenal's options, and Forest have not scored in three of their six league games this season.

Milenkovic and Savona's absences leave Ousmane Diomande, Murillo and Jair Cunha as Glasner's likely back three, with Daniel Munoz and Neco Williams pushed into wing-back roles to cover the width Forest would normally get from fuller-back pairings. This is an enforced reshuffle rather than a tactical preference.

Glasner took over on 6 July 2026, succeeding Vitor Pereira, and results have been slow to turn his way. A first home league win of the season would ease some of that pressure before it builds further.

Arsenal have lost just once in the same six matches, a 3-0 defeat at Brighton on 19 September, either side of wins over Aston Villa, Chelsea, Sunderland and, most recently, a 2-1 victory at Leeds United on 10 October. Five wins from six games have them second with 15 points.

Bukayo Saka has three goals from six appearances, the highest return at the club this season, and remains Arsenal's clearest route to goal against a patched-up Forest defence. His form has continued since coming off the bench to score and assist against Lille in midweek.

William Saliba remains out with a long-term back problem and Piero Hincapie picked up an ankle injury against Leeds, forcing changes to a defence that has otherwise helped Arsenal to a goal difference of +5. Martin Zubimendi, hurt in the same incident as Hincapie, is a doubt rather than a certain absentee.

Arteta's new contract through June 2030, signed on 7 October 2026, rewards a manager who delivered Arsenal's first league title in 22 years last season. That stability stands in sharp contrast to Forest's managerial upheaval and gives Arsenal a settled platform to build another title challenge from.

Team news and predicted lineups: Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal

Nottingham Forest

Igor Jesus is out with a calf injury picked up earlier this month, and Savona's recovery from knee surgery has no fixed return date. Milenkovic remains a doubt after the bone bruise that ruled him out of the defeat at Crystal Palace, and Gibbs-White is a doubt of his own with a minor muscle injury.

That leaves Diomande, Murillo and Cunha as the likely back three, with Munoz and Williams in the wing-back positions and John Victor continuing in goal ahead of Matz Sels.

Liam Delap is set to lead the attack, with Ndoye and most likely Callum Hudson-Odoi in support if Gibbs-White fails to prove his fitness, though a defence missing two first-choice centre-backs leaves Forest short of cover if Arsenal's front line gets in behind.

Nottingham Forest predicted lineup vs Arsenal

Victor; Diomande, Murillo, Cunha; Munoz, Schlager, McAtee, Williams; Hudson-Odoi, Ndoye; Delap.

Arsenal

Saliba is a long-term absentee with a back problem, Hincapie is out with the ankle injury sustained against Leeds, and Christos Tzolis is unavailable with a hamstring issue picked up on international duty with Greece.

Zubimendi, hurt in the same incident as Hincapie, is rated a doubt rather than a certain absentee, showing enough improvement that he could be fit enough to feature. Arteta has not confirmed his involvement either way.

Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly look set to shield a reshuffled back four, with Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes covering the gaps left by Saliba and Hincapie. Saka, Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze would support Kai Havertz up front.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest

Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Lewis-Skelly, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Eze; Havertz.

Head-to-head: Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal

Arsenal have won three and drawn two of the last five meetings between these sides, scoring eight goals and conceding just one since January 2024. The most recent meeting, on 17 January 2026, finished goalless at the City Ground.

Forest's overall home Premier League record against Arsenal, 20 wins, eight draws and 20 losses, is far more competitive than the six wins they have managed from 28 attempts away from home, a detail that offers some genuine encouragement at the City Ground despite the broader head-to-head picture.

Our Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal prediction and tips

Odds correct as of Friday, 16 October 2026, 15:00 BST.