Fulham vs Nottingham Forest

Craven Cottage sets the stage for an exciting encounter between Premier League bottom-half underachievers Fulham and Nottingham Forest.

Fulham came minutes away from becoming the first side to avoid defeat at Anfield this season last weekend, only for Liverpool to pull off a stunning late comeback, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 victory. That demoralizing result arrived just days after a last-minute penalty fired the ‘Cottagers’ to a 3-2 home triumph against Wolverhampton, giving them a chance to win back-to-back home matches in the Premier League for the first time this season. However, consistency has been a massive issue for Marco Silva’s men since Aleksandar Mitrovic’s switch to Al-Hilal, as their six home league games have alternated between victories (3) and defeats (3). Sheer firepower could determine this contest, considering four of those six encounters have seen the winner on the day score 2+ goals.

Fortuitously for Nottingham Forest, they seem to have taken their scoring boots out of the closet, netting at least twice in three consecutive Premier League outings (W1, L2) before slipping to a 1-0 home loss to Everton last weekend. That said, Steve Cooper’s side had failed to get on the scoresheet on three top-flight travels on the trot (D1, L2) before losing 3-2 at West Ham on their most recent trip. Forest’s substantial list of problems doesn’t end there, as they lost both league clashes against Fulham last season by a combined score of 5-2. Interestingly, none of their eight league H2Hs in London since a 0-0 draw in 2000 have ended level (W3, L5), with the last two seeing the victor register a clean sheet, highlighting the importance of a robust start.