Liverpool will try to keep building their league title-contending credentials Sunday when they host a Nottingham Forest side that has proven difficult to beat in its second season back in the Premier League.
Liverpool (6-1-2, 20 points) begin the weekend six points back of Tottenham for the league lead and fourth in a crowded top of the table.
Manager Jurgen Klopp’s side remains perfect at home in all competitions, having defeated derby rivals Everton 2-0 last Saturday and following that with a 5-1 drubbing of Toulouse Thursday night in UEFA Europa League group play.
But the quick turnaround — with less than 72 hours to recover — means Klopp will have to make some choices regarding player rotation. Fortunately for him, he has a squad deep enough that he was able to deploy club-leading scorer Mohamed Salah off the bench against Thursday’s French foes.
“It means a lot of players who didn’t play (against Toulouse) will start on Sunday,” Klopp said of the schedule. “This rhythm is the rhythm we have this year and we should get used to it sooner rather than later.”
After fighting to ensure survival in their first Premier League season in more than two decades last campaign, Nottingham Forest (2-3-4, 10 points) have already built a six-point gap between themselves and the relegation places in their follow-up endeavor.
That’s not to say it’s all gone perfectly.
Manager Steve Cooper’s squad has performed admirably in close away defeats to Arsenal and Manchester United and stole a 1-0 win at Chelsea in early September. But the Trees have now drawn four out of five, with three coming at home against sides their supporters would say were winnable matches.
Most recently, Forest gave back a two-goal lead in a 2-2 home draw to newly promoted Luton Town, despite an early-second-half brace from Chris Wood.
“We have to own that. I have to own that,” Cooper said of that capitulation and the approach that led to it. “We have to move on as well and we need to be more than ready for the next match.”
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones will serve the last of his three-match suspension for a red card-worthy challenge in a controversial 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, former Liverpool attacker Divock Origi will be prevented from making his first Anfield return with Forest due to a hip issue.
–Field Level Media
