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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 32
Liverpool v Nottingham Forest
Anfield
Liverpool, England
Saturday, 22 April 2023
Kick-off is at 16h00
Nottingham Forest will attempt to spring another upset against Liverpool when they square off in a
Premier League encounter an Anfield on Saturday, April 22.
Steve Cooper's side triumphed 1-0 in the reverse fixture at the City Ground on October 22, when Taiwo Awoniyi scored in the 55th minute to down his former club.
Forest have been dragged back into the relegation mire after a poor run of form dating back to February, which has seen them lose seven of their last 10 games.
A 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester United last Sunday extended their winless streak to 10 matches and left them in the bottom three, two points clear of Leicester (19th) and four ahead of Southampton (20th).
The two-time European champions are tied with Everton (17th) on 27 points but find themselves in the drop zone on goal difference with seven fixtures remaining in the season.
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Inconsistency continues to plague the Merseyside giants, who haven't managed to put an unbeaten run of more than five games together all season.
Jurgen Klopp's team only picked up two points from their last four games prior to the trip to Leeds on April 17, with successive draws against Chelsea (0-0) and Arsenal (2-2) halting a two-match losing streak.
The Reds trail Tottenham (5th) by nine points in eighth position with two games in hand, although Brighton (7th) are a point better off after the same number of matches.
Mohamed Salah continues to break records at Anfield, with his recent goal against Manchester City seeing him become the club's highest away scorer as he surpassed Michael Owen's tally of 55. The Egyptian star was also on target against the Gunners last time out to put him on 13 goals for the campaign, although it is some way off the 23 he bagged last term to share the Golden Boot with Son Heung-Min.
Keylor Navas could be in for another busy afternoon against Liverpool, having pulled off a number of outstanding saves to keep Manchester United down to just two goals at the City Ground. The Costa Rican shotstopper has kept just one clean sheet in 11 outings since making the switch from Paris Saint-German in January but his vast experience could yet aid Forest's cause to avoid relegation.
In team news, Calvin Ramsay (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (groin) and Naby Keita (muscular) remain unavailable for the hosts, while the visitors are in the midst of a growing injury crisis, with Giulian Biancone (knee), Chris Wood, Willy Boly, Cheikhou Kouyate (all thigh) and Omar Richards (calf) definitely ruled out. Doubts remain over the fitness of Serge Aurier, Gustavo Scarpa (knee), Dean Henderson (thigh) and Ryan Yates (shoulder).
Klopp admits he's been trying "new things" in a bid to salvage something for their season, insisting they can throw caution to the wind in the final two months.
"Yeah, we have nothing to lose really. We are in a position where we don't want to be in the table, that means we have to act a little bit like this," the German said.
"We have to try new things, we have to fight for things, that's how it is. The things we tried so far this season didn't work out properly and especially not consistently, and that's what we have to do."
Cooper acknowledges Forest need to raise their game if they want to stay in the top flight but is adamant his players have belief that they can pull it off.
"It's another disappointing day. I have no problem with the players' attitude and desire, you could see they were committed, but at the same time you've got to do more to win games at this level," he said.
"I see belief every day, but we've got to turn that into results. There's a lot of scrutiny on the games because of where we're at in the season, but we're not going to shy away from that.
"The situation is the situation, the fans got behind us right until the end. We can only keep going, but we've got to do better."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Liverpool - 2
Forest - 1
Draws - 2
Matchday 32 fixtures:
Friday, April 21
21h00: Arsenal v Southampton
Saturday, April 22
13h30: Fulham v Leeds United
16h00: Brentford v Aston Villa
16h00: Crystal Palace v Everton
16h00: Leicester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
16h00: Liverpool v Nottingham Forest
Sunday, April 23
15h00: Bournemouth v West Ham United
15h00: Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
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