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Liverpool face a crucial trip to play Nottingham Forest on Tuesday as they aim to cement their lead at the top of the Premier League.
The Reds are currently six points clear of Forest, who remarkably sit in third place after 20 games played.
Extending that lead to nine points with a game in hand would feel enormous for Liverpool, especially with Arsenal heading into a North London Derby on Wednesday.
However, the Reds lost to Forest at Anfield in September and Nuno Espirito Santo will be hoping that that victory serves as the blueprint for what would be an eighth win in a row for his team.
For Liverpool, they absolutely have to ensure they learn from their mistakes that day to avoid having Forest do a Premier League double over them.
And as the Liverpool squad put their final preparations in place, former Reds defender Steve Nicol has predicted what Arne Slot will have been telling his players in the days leading up to the game.
Photo by Nikki Dyer – LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool simply could not find a way past Forest when the two teams met in September.
Since then, the pain of that defeat has been eased by the fact that Nuno’s team have dished out similar treatment to just about everyone else in the Premier League.
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Solid in defence and devastating on the counter, Forest’s game plan against Liverpool will be clear once again.
And according to Nicol, the Reds will likely be well prepared for what they’ll face at the City Ground.
“Liverpool, there’s no question, it’ll be all about defending behind the ball when they’re going forward,” says the Liverpool legend.
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“They’ll be so ready for this and that’s why I see Liverpool winning the game.
“Liverpool, no question, should be 100 per cent focused on what happens when they lose the ball,” Nicol adds.
“I would suspect that’s what’s been going on at Liverpool over the past couple of days.
That’s what Liverpool are going to do and that’s why I think they’ll win the game.”
Although Liverpool should still be favourites for Tuesday’s game, there is real trepidation amongst the fanbase.
That is not all down to the good recent form of Forest either.
Since their promotion to the Premier League in 2022, Liverpool have had a decidedly patchy record against them.
DateResultStadium22/10/22Nottingham Forest 1-0 Liverpool City Ground22/04/23Liverpool 3-2 Nottingham ForestAnfield29/10/23Liverpool 3-0 Nottingham ForestAnfield02/03/24Nottingham Forest 0-1 LiverpoolCity Ground14/09/24Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham ForestAnfield
Played five, won three, drawn none and lost two is how the Reds have fared when these two teams have done battle.
Their two previous visits to the City Ground ended 1-0, with one loss and one win.
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