Championship side Nottingham Forest travel to Arsenal on Tuesday night in the third round of the EFL Cup.
The two teams have now been drawn against each other in domestic cup competitions for the third time three years.
Last time out against @Arsenal 🙌🔴⚪️ #NFFC pic.twitter.com/gI3ttQUKCl— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) September 24, 2019
Last time out against @Arsenal 🙌🔴⚪️ #NFFC pic.twitter.com/gI3ttQUKCl
Arsenal thrashed Nottingham Forest 4-0 at this stage of the EFL Cup in 2016. However, when the teams met in the FA Cup in 2018, Forest claimed a famous 4-2 victory.
Forest have made a promising start to the season and will no doubt be looking to emulate their success of 2018 this time around.
After losing on the opening day, Forest have now gone seven league games without defeat and are on an unbeaten run of nine games in all competitions.
After beating Fleetwood in the first round of the EFL Cup, Forest secured a 3-0 win over bitter rivals Derby County in round two to set up a trip to the Emirates.
This will be Arsenal’s first match in the EFL Cup this season after entering the competition at the third-round draw.
The Gunners come into the match having made an inconsistent start to the 2019/20 Premier League campaign.
Unai Emery’s men have played six top-flight matches so far and have recorded three wins, two draws, and one defeat.
Arsenal have scored in each of their six league matches so far, but it is at the other end of the pitch where their problems lie.
The Gunners have failed to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season and have conceded two or more goals in four of their six matches.
In fact, Arsenal have conceded nine goals in their last four league games and have only managed to outscore their opponents once in that time.
Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney both played some minutes for Arsenal’s under-23s last week, so this could be the perfect opportunity to integrate the full-back duo back into the first team.
However, striker Alexandre Lacazette is unavailable for selection after he picked up an injury.
Forest manager Sabri Lamouchi has played a relatively settled starting eleven in the Championship and is expected to make a number of changes on Tuesday to freshen things up.
With that being said, Arsenal should cruise to a comfortable victory on Tuesday, and the Gunners are expected to beat Forest and qualify for the fourth-round.