Premier League:  Can Pereira Bring Some Stability at Nottingham Forest?

Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool

Vitor Pereira became Nottingham Forest’s fourth manager this season, and he’ll make his Premier League bow with the Tricky Trees when they host Liverpool at City Ground on Sunday.

It has been a strange campaign for Nottingham Forest ever since they fired Nuno Espirito Santo. They’ve gone with Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche, but none of them worked out, and Pereira, who also bombed out of the Wolves this season, faces the daunting challenge of righting the ship. Facing Liverpool is far from ideal, but Pereira is off to a dream start, as Nottingham Forest are coming off a 3-0 win over Fenerbahce in their Europa League play-off tie.

Liverpool are fighting for a Top 4 spot, and the Reds are fresh from back-to-back wins against Sunderland (1-0) and Brighton (3-0) in the FA Cup fourth round. As a result, they improved to sixth in the English top-flight standings.

 

Talking Points

Murillo gives Nottingham Forest morale boost

Nottingham Forest suffered a 3-1 loss at Leeds United two weeks ago, which proved to be Sean Dyche’s final game at the helm. The Tricky Trees conceded many goals easily, as they were without one of the top defenders.

Murillo sustained a calf injury during training before facing the Whites and was replaced by Zach Abbott in the centre-half. The 19-year-old failed to impress and was eventually replaced by Luca Netz. The good news is that the injury turned out to be minor, as Murillo came back against Fenerbahce, and the 23-year-old centre-back even scored the opening goal in the first half en route to the shutout win.

During their resurgence last season under Nuno Espirito Santo, the centre-back partnership of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic was one of the Premier League’s best defensive pairings, and head coach Vitor Pereira will likely stick with it (alongside Ola Aina and Neco Williams) to avoid the relegation zone. 

Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus were also on the scoresheet against Fenerbahce, and they are expected to lead the frontline. Pereira can choose between Callum Hudson-Odoi, Omari Hutchinson, Dan Ndoye, Lorenzo Lucca, and James McAtee as their partners in the final third.

 

Szoboszlai is back for Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk recently tipped Dominik Szoboszlai to be the next Liverpool captain, as the Hungarian midfielder has been their driving force this season. The former RB Leipzig man may only have four league goals and two assists this season, but those numbers don’t capture his overall impact.

One of Szoboszlai’s best attributes is his versatility, as he can play multiple positions. However, his best position is the No. 10, and he’s among the Premier League’s top chance creators this term, notching 44 chances created (including assists) and 23 open play chances created – good for the fourth-best mark in England.

The Reds sorely missed Szoboszlai, who had to serve his suspension at Sunderland. He returned against Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round and made an immediate impact by scoring their second goal.

 

History

Liverpool slumped to a shocking 3-0 defeat against Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest in their reverse fixture last November, marking it the Reds’ heaviest home loss since losing 4-1 to Manchester City in 2021. The Tricky Trees are gunning for their first league double over the Reds since 1962-63. Liverpool have won just one of their last 15 away league matches against Nottingham Forest (D8, L6).

Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last three against Liverpool (W2, D1), and they’ve drawn each of their last three league matches at City Ground. Vitor Pereira hopes to win his first league game as Nottingham Forest manager, as the last six have lost their first league game with the club, except for Dave Bassett in March 1997 (1-0 against Tottenham).

 

Betting Tip

The Premier League 2026 odds expect Liverpool to bounce back from their horrific reverse fixture against Nottingham Forest. This weekend, the Reds are 1.82 favourites to win, while the Tricky Trees are 3.78 underdogs, and a draw is pegged at 3.09 in the 1X2 market. Based on their recent encounters, there should be enough Premier League 2026 highlights to go by from this contest. Besides rooting for the Reds to win, SBOTOP bettors may also consider adding Over 2.50 at 1.71, Over 2.75 at 1.93, and Total Goal 2-3 at 2.03 to the parlay. However, if you fancy the Tricky Trees’ chances of securing a league double over the Reds, check out the Correct Score of 3-0 – the result of their previous league meeting – as it is on a staggering offer of 75.00 your bet.

   

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