Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest

Emirates Stadium is the venue as Arsenal and Nottingham Forest go head-to-head in contrasting Premier League circumstances.

PSV Eindhoven knocked Arsenal down from a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W8, D1) with a 2-0 home win in midweek Europa League action, following up the Londoners’ disappointing 1-1 league draw at Southampton last weekend. However, the ‘Gunners’ have entered this round as the Premier League leaders, albeit only two points clear of second-placed Manchester City. Despite Arsenal’s impressive domestic form, Mikel Arteta’s men haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last ten home league outings, which did not prevent them from winning the last eight on the trot (L2). Another successful weekend is on the cards, with Arsenal running out victors in seven straight Premier League clashes against newly-promoted sides and could make it eight in a row for the first time since 2014.

In the meantime, Nottingham Forest rendered the odds meaningless last weekend as they pulled off a stunning 1-0 home win over Liverpool, ending an underwhelming run of nine winless Premier League matches beforehand (D3, L6). Still nailed to the bottom of the standings, the promoted visitors are only two points adrift of safety, though their away form cannot inspire much confidence. In addition to going winless on all six Premier League travels this season (D2, L4), the ‘Tricky Trees’ have netted a league-low one goal on the road thus far. There’s a slim hope for Steve Cooper’s side, as they’ve been victorious on their last two league visits to London, each time via an identical 1-0 scoreline. By contrast, they’ve only won two of their 27 league visits to Arsenal (D11, L14)!