Relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest will be looking to move away from the Premier League drop zone when they host Champions League-chasing Newcastle United on Friday.
Steve Cooper’s side find themselves 14th in the table – two points clear of the bottom three – following a run of five league games without a win.
Charging up for the next one. 🔋 pic.twitter.com/n4a7BtwYu3— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) March 14, 2023
Charging up for the next one. 🔋 pic.twitter.com/n4a7BtwYu3
At the opposite end of the standings, Newcastle occupy fifth place – four points outside the Champions League places with two games in hand on Tottenham Hotspur.
Nottingham Forest kicked off 2023 with a five-match unbeaten run in the league, picking up three wins and two draws to ease relegation fears.
Since then, however, the Tricky Trees have taken just two points from a possible 15, recording two draws and three losses in the process.
Forest can take confidence from the fact that they have avoided defeat in each of their previous nine home games in the Premier League, keeping four clean sheets along the way.
That said, Cooper’s men have only managed to win one of their past nine matches across all competitions, so they could struggle to deal with Newcastle.
As for the visitors, they ended a five-game winless run with a 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.
Following back-to-back draws, the Magpies suffered three consecutive losses, so last weekend’s win against Wolves came at just the right time.
When you look at the bigger picture, Newcastle have lost just five of their previous 35 encounters across all competitions.
It is also worth noting that Eddie Howe’s men boast the best defensive record in the Premier League, having conceded 18 goals in 25 outings this season.
Head-to-head: Newcastle United claimed a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on the opening weekend of the 2022-23 Premier League campaign.
The two sides have only played out one draw in their last eight meetings between 2009 and 2022, so we should get a winner either way on Friday.
Team news: Nottingham Forest’s extensive injury list contains Willy Boly, Scott McKenna, Taiwo Awoniyi, Dean Henderson, Cheikhou Kouyate, Giulian Biancone, Omar Richards, Wayne Hennessey, Chris Wood and Brennan Johnson.
Newcastle will be without the suspended Joelinton on Friday, while Anthony Gorgon and Emil Krafth are both injury doubts.
Forest have enjoyed plenty of success on home soil this season, but Newcastle should be too strong for the relegation strugglers this time around.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score at the City Ground. However, Newcastle United should have enough firepower to outscore Nottingham Forest.