The Tricky Trees valiantly fought back from behind twice in a 3-2 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield, but their endeavour counted for nothing as they ultimately came away empty-handed again, leaving them rooted in the bottom three.
A return to the City Ground where Forest have collected five of their six PL wins this season may prove timely then, but if they’re to secure a morale-boosting victory, they’ll likely need a clean sheet as well.
That’s because all five of those home wins came with an accompanying shut-out, but with just one win and four draws from their last seven home league outings against Brighton (L2), even a clean sheet isn’t guaranteed to result in anything better than the 0-0 achieved in the reverse fixture.
Steve Cooper’s side do perhaps catch Brighton at a good time after their energy-sapping 120-minute slog against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday which ultimately ended in a defeat on penalties.
Boss Roberto De Zerbi believed his side “deserved to win” that game, but they must now put that disappointment behind them as they bid to achieve their “target of Europe” according to the Seagulls chief.
Interestingly, this will be Brighton’s fourth successive PL away game, but winning two of the prior three (L1) proves the Seagulls are well averse to taking flight on their travels.
Only the PL’s top three have claimed more away points this term than Brighton’s 25 and considering De Zerbi’s side have won their last three midweek PL games (Tuesday-Thursday), you’d be brave to bet against them adding to that tally here.
Key battle: Leaking goals for fun of late, Forest’s Keylor Navas has conceded in 11 straight games at an average rate of 2.2 goals per game. Bidding to compound Navas’ misery and put his crucial semi-final penalty miss behind him is Solly March, who has seen his four PL away goals this term arrive in the 20 minutes following half-time.
Hot stat: Ahead of the round, Forest are the only PL side to have lost two home games this season after leading at half-time.
