Dubai: Strugglers Nottingham Forest and Everton face each other on Sunday afternoon in a crucial relegation battle in the Premier League.
The Tricky Trees have a game in hand and sit four points clear of the bottom three, while the Toffees find themselves one point inside the drop zone.
Forest would have been confident after holding Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at the City Ground, but they suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at West Ham last weekend, keeping them in the relegation battle. However, they have avoided defeat in each of their previous eight home league games, including positive results against Liverpool, Chelsea, and City. Forest have the worst away record in the Premier League, but they have proved that they can go toe-to-toe with the division’s top teams on home soil.
Poor form
On the other hand, Everton have managed to win just one of their 12 away league games this season, with four draws and seven losses. The Toffees’ sole away victory came at Southampton back in October, and they have only taken two points from a possible 24 on the road since then. The Blues have scored only six league goals on their travels this term, while Forest have kept four clean sheets in their previous seven home league games.
Everton have an extensive injury list, with key striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin set to miss the trip to the City Ground as he continues to recover from injury, and Nathan Patterson and Andros Townsend also expected to be absent.
Forest will have limited options for Sunday’s showdown, with nine first-team players sidelined through injury, including the centre-back trio of Scott McKenna, Willy Boly, and Moussa Niakhate. However, Joe Worrall and Felipe will resume their partnership in front of goalkeeper Keylor Navas this weekend, while Renan Lodi and Neco Williams will occupy the full-back roles.
Leading the line
Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White will lead Forest’s attack, with Chris Wood like-ly to get the nod up front. On the other hand, Neal Maupay is expected to lead the line for Everton this weekend, with Ellis Simms and Demarai Gray offering attacking support from the bench.
Given that Forest have a strong home form, and Everton have a poor away record, all the signs point towards another victory for Steve Cooper’s men at the City Ground. The hosts should pull through with a fifth clean sheet in eight home league games. Sunday’s clash looks destined to be a low-scoring affair.
