We may have only just passed the halfway point in the Premier League season, but Sunday’s meeting between Nottingham Forest and Leeds United already feels like a relegation six-pointer.
Ahead of the showdown at the City Ground, thirteenth-placed Forest find themselves three points clear of fifteenth-placed Leeds, who sit just one point outside the drop zone.
Nottingham Forest is delighted to welcome Ghana captain André Ayew to The City Ground! 😍#WelcomeAndré 🇬🇭— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) February 2, 2023
Nottingham Forest is delighted to welcome Ghana captain André Ayew to The City Ground! 😍#WelcomeAndré 🇬🇭
With the bottom nine teams in the Premier League table separated by just nine points, Forest and Leeds will both be desperate to enhances their chances of survival this weekend.
Let’s start by looking at the hosts, Nottingham Forest, who head into Sunday’s clash on the back of a 5-0 aggregate defeat to Manchester United in the EFL Cup semi-finals.
After losing the first leg 3-0 at the City Ground, Steve Cooper’s side were beaten 2-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday – seeing just 25% possession in the process.
It is worth noting, however, that Forest are enjoying a four-game unbeaten streak in the league, having picked up two wins and two draws since their last loss.
The Trickey Trees have also avoided defeat in each of their past six home league games, so they will be confident of claiming a positive result on home soil this weekend.
As for Leeds United, they booked their placed in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 victory over A Accrington Stanley last weekend – extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to three matches.
That said, it is worth pointing out that Jesse Marsch’s men have only managed to win two of their previous 10 encounters across all competitions.
In the Premier League, Leeds are currently enduring a six-game winless run, having registered three draws and three losses since beating Bournemouth 4-3 back in November.
When you look at the bigger picture, the West Yorkshire outfit have only managed to win two of their last 16 Premier League games, suffering nine defeats along the way.
Head-to-head: Forest and Leeds last met during the 2019-20 Championship campaign, with the Tricky Trees taking four points from the two meetings.
Leeds have managed to win just two of their previous 15 meetings with Forest, while the East Midlands outfit are unbeaten in five in this fixture.
Team news: Forest’s extensive injury list contains Taiwo Awoniyi, Omar Richards, Dean Henderson, Moussa Niakhate, Giulian Biancone, Cheikhou Kouyate and Morgan Gibbs-White.
The Tricky Trees made seven signings during the winter transfer window, with Keylor Navas, Jonjo Shelvey, Andre Ayew and Felipe in line to make their debuts for the club.
Meanwhile, Leeds brought in Maximilian Wober, Georginio Rutter and Weston McKennie last month, with the latter joining on loan from Juventus.
The visitors are currently without a number of key players due to injury, including Rodrigo, Adam Forshaw, Crysencio Summerville, Robin Koch and Stuart Dallas.
With so much at stake, Forest and Leeds are expected to play out a close-fought battle on Sunday, as both sides will be eager to avoid defeat.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Nottingham Forest and Leeds United will share the points at the City Ground – dishing up a low-scoring draw on Trentside.