Nottingham Forest v Newcastle preview: Fight for survival continues
The manager was critical of his side for not “doing the non-negotiables a little bit better” as they slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham last weekend, a fifth match without a victory (D2, L3).
That run of form means the Tricky Trees are now just two points above the relegation zone as they fight to avoid an immediate return to the Championship amid the additional burden of a growing injury list.
The bulk of their bad form has been on the road though, as they are on an impressive nine game unbeaten run at the City Ground (W4, D5), helping them to collect 20 of their 26 points this season on home soil.
Fans with a long memory may doubt their side can extend that to ten matches without defeat though, as visitors Newcastle are unbeaten against Forest in the top-flight since 1988 (W6, D4).
The Magpies also arrive in Nottingham hoping they have turned the corner, with a late 2-1 win over Wolves last time out ending their five-match winless streak across all competitions (D2, L3).
Manager Eddie Howe was quick to praise his side’s “character” after that victory, as they rejuvenated their hopes of qualifying for a UEFA competition for the first time since 2012/13.
Newcastle are now just four points behind fourth-placed Spurs, but they surely need to find their goalscoring touch in order to finish in a Champions League place, as they have netted just once in their last four PL away fixtures (D3, L1).
Players to watch: Jesse Lingard is yet to get off the mark in the league for Nottingham Forest, but has got his joint-second most number of PL goals against Newcastle, three in seven attempts (W3, D1, L3).
In opposition, Newcastle’s Alexander Isak scored against Wolves last weekend but has a relatively mediocre win percentage of 59% across his last 22 goalscoring games (W13, D5, L4).
Hot stat: Just ten of Forest’s 26 PL matches have seen both teams score, a joint low for the division.
