Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Alexander-Arnold faces tough Trent battle

After 19 days of inactivity at Anfield, Premier League football returns to L4 this Saturday (15:00) as Liverpool host fellow unbeaten side Nottingham Forest. The visitors can't match the Reds' record of three wins from as many games, nor zero goals conceded, but the Tricky Trees have made a solid start to the 2024/25 season, drawing 1-1 with AFC Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers either side of a 1-0 win at Southampton.

Read on for my Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest prediction and all the latest team news ahead of the return of the English top flight following the international break.

Team News

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was probably sweating over the fitness of midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who limped off for Argentina in a 3-0 victory over Chile last Friday, 31 minutes after opening the scoring.

However, the 25-year-old came on as a substitute in his country's 2-1 defeat to Colombia in the early hours of Wednesday and should be fine to feature on the weekend.

Harvey Elliott is definitely ruled out of Saturday's contest after sustaining a fractured foot in England U21s training last week, with reports suggesting that he will be sidelined until late October.

Another midfielder, Curtis Jones, will be hoping to make his first appearance of the season on Saturday after injury kept him out of the 2-0 home win against Brentford on August 5 and the 0-3 triumph against Manchester United at Old Trafford a week later.

Jones could be joined in the squad by summer signing Federico Chiesa, who snubbed an international call-up with Italy in favour of building his fitness up on Merseyside.

Slot must make decisions over his South American contingent given the long-haul flights they have embarked upon in midweek. Alisson Becker is sure to keep his spot in goal but whether Mac Allister and Luis Diaz are thrown in from the start, remains to be seen.

Football Odds

Danilo is a long-term injury absentee for Nottingham Forest after suffering an ankle injury on the first weekend of the 2024/25 campaign but, aside from the Brazilian midfielder and veteran defender Willy Boly (calf), head coach Nuno Espirito Santo appears to have a full complement available to him.

Morato, a compatriot of Danilo who joined the Tricky Trees from Benfica on August 30, will be looking to make his first Premier League matchday squad on Saturday, while fellow new arrival James Ward-Prowse, who also joined on deadline day on loan from West Ham United, is in contention to start at Anfield.

Former Liverpool man Neco Williams played the duration of Wales' internationals against Turkey and Montenegro and will hope to make a fourth consecutive Premier League start of the season at his old stomping ground, while Aston Villa loanee Alex Moreno could make his league debut for Forest.

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest Odds

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Unsurprisingly, Liverpool are huge favourites to triumph this weekend, with odds of 2/9 giving the Reds an implied win probability of 81.8%, while Forest are 12/1, or a 7.7% chance, to spring a surprise on Merseyside.

The draw is priced at 6/1, both teams to score at 5/6, and over 2.5 total goals at 2/5.

Mohamed Salah, who has struck in all three of Liverpool's games so far, is favourite in the anytime and first-scorer markets at 5/6 and 100/30 respectively. Chris Wood already has two for the season and is considered Forest's most likely anytime scorer at 7/2.

Player to Receive a Card - Trent Alexander-Arnold @ 9/2

Fresh from a successful international break with England that saw him pick up two Player of the Match awards in 2-0 wins against the Republic of Ireland and Finland, it's back to the Premier League grind on Saturday for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is sure to have more work to get through against Forest.

Ireland and Finland barely laid a glove on the Three Lions in the Uefa Nations League, leaving Alexander-Arnold to dictate the game from deeper areas and play numerous defence-splitting passes into the attackers.

However, up against the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga and new international teammate Morgan Gibbs-White, I'm expecting Liverpool's vice-captain to be put through his paces at Anfield.

Elanga, in particular, is a speedy winger that loves to stretch defences, while Hudson-Odoi and Gibbs-White are no slouches either but are more famed for their ability to dribble past their opponents. Gibbs-White came under rough treatment from the Reds last season, being fouled twice in a 3-0 defeat at Anfield last October and four times in a late 0-1 loss at the City Ground in March.

Alexander-Arnold didn't feature on the banks of the River Trent but played most of Liverpool's home victory over the Tricky Trees, picking up the first yellow card of the game in the first 20 minutes for a foul on Ola Aina. That was one of six cautions he received in the Premier League last season, one more than in the 2022/23 campaign when he made nine more appearances.

The 25-year-old is yet to be booked this term but given he averaged a yellow every 4.6 games last season, there may just be one around the corner, and I think the profiles of the Forest attackers make Saturday's contest a difficult one for him, so at 9/2, I'm backing an Alexander-Arnold caution.

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 3.5 - Liverpool & Under 3.5 Goals @ 13/10

All signs point towards a comfortable Liverpool win on Saturday, with Slot's side having won every game so far without conceding.

Certainly, I believe the Reds will make it four in a row by beating Forest at Anfield, but I'm reluctant to predict a thrashing or another clean sheet for the reigning Carabao Cup champions.

Nuno isn't famed for being a particularly attacking manager, but he has managed to get his side to score in all three league games so far, as well as in the Carabao Cup second round against Newcastle United. A trip to Liverpool is, obviously, their hardest match on paper yet, and Forest were unable to breach the Reds' backline under Steve Cooper last October, but they have the attackers to hurt the hosts, and off the back of an international break, I wouldn't rule out Virgil van Dijk and co being caught cold.

Ultimately, I do expect Liverpool to claim victory, either by a 2-0 or 2-1 scoreline. Forest haven't conceded more than once in a game this term, and only once in their last seven stretching back to last season, while five of their last six defeats have seen the above selection land.

Offers

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