Liverpool have the chance to end their run without an away league win at Nottingham Forest, on what could be a milestone day for captain Jordan Henderson.
The teams are meeting in the league for the first time since 1998/99, though they did meet here last season in FA Cup quarter-final, the Reds won 1-0 that day.
But that is their only victory in their last 13 visits to the City Ground, having drawn seven and lost five – the last win to that came in October 1984.
The teams have met 100 times in league football with Liverpool winning exactly half of those – time to add another.
Bumps in the road
The Reds are yet to win away from home in the league this season – two draws (Fulham and Everton) and two defeats (Man United and Arsenal).
It’s the first time since 2010/11 that Liverpool have not won any of their opening four games on the road in the top flight.
The last time they went five away league games at the start of a season without winning was in 2006/07 (winning at Wigan at the eighth attempt).
250 for the captain
Jordan Henderson could captain Liverpool for the 250th time in all competitions, in what would be appearance No. 462 for the Reds.
And Fabio Carvalho, on the other hand, could play the 50th game of his league career, the first 40 coming with Fulham.
Another goal with Nunez start?
Darwin Nunez has scored in each of his last three starts in all competitions (Arsenal, Rangers and West Ham).
Adding to that, Liverpool have failed to score in only one league game in 2022, in a goalless draw at Everton last month.
A win will also see Liverpool move into fifth place in the table, for a few hours at least.
A rollercoaster for Forest
Only half of the 14 players used in last season’s play-off final remain at the City Ground: Joe Worrall, Steve Cook, Scott McKenna, Ryan Yates, Jack Colback, Brannan Johnson and Sam Surridge.
They have dropped 10 points from winning positions this season and have taken two points from the last eight league fixtures.
Moreover, they have scored seven in total in the top-flight this campaign. Only Wolves, with five, have netted fewer. And only Leicester (24) have conceded more goals than Forest’s 23.
A meeting with ex-Reds
This will be Steve Cooper’s 50th league game in charge of Forest. He has won 23 times, with 13 draws and 13 defeats (seven of those losses coming this season).
Cooper took over at Forest from Chris Hughton in September 2021. He was a youth coach at Liverpool before becoming academy manager and left the Reds after five years to join the FA, where he coached the under-17’s to World Cup glory in 2017.
Neco Williams played 33 times for Liverpool from 2019-22 before joining Forest last summer for a fee of £17 million.
Taiwo Awoniyi spent six years at Anfield without ever making an appearance (due to visa issues). He was loaned out to European clubs on seven occasions and left to join Union Berlin on a permanent basis in July 2021.
Tierney loves a booking
Paul Tierney is the referee for today’s match.
He has issued more yellow cards than any other referee in the Premier League this season (37). He was also the one who sent off Darwin Nunez against Crystal Palace back in August.
This Season’s Scorers
Nottingham Forest: Awoniyi 2, Johnson 2, Surridge 2, Dennis 1, Kouyate 1, O’Brien 1, Yates 1
Liverpool: Salah 9, Firmino 8, Nunez 5, Diaz 4, Alexander-Arnold 3, Carvalho 2, Elliott 2, Matip 1, van Dijk 1, own goals 2
* Stats courtesy of LFC statistician Ged Rea (@ged0407).
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