Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest preview: team news, h2h, predictions & more as Aina eyes comeback

Anfield stages one of Gameweek 2’s most anticipated Premier League fixtures on Saturday as Andoni Iraola’s new-look Liverpool welcome Oliver Glasner’s Nottingham Forest to Merseyside for the first home test of the 2026/27 season, Afrik-Foot reports.

Ola Aina, the Super Eagles right wing-back who has established himself as one of Forest’s most dependable performers since 2022, lines up in Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 hoping to contain a Liverpool attack rebuilt around Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, the club’s £116-million German playmaker entering his second season at the club.

Liverpool head into this fixture with one point from a dramatic 2-2 draw at Newcastle, with the Reds twice coming from behind before Dominik Szoboszlai converted a 99th-minute penalty to rescue a share of the spoils, while Forest arrive without a point or a goal after losing 1-0 at home to Leeds in the league and suffering a Carabao Cup exit to the same opponents on Tuesday.

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest Match Preview

Andoni Iraola’s appointment in summer 2026 marked a significant shift in Liverpool’s direction after a 2025/26 campaign in which the club finished fifth in the Premier League, 25 points behind champions Arsenal, before Arne Slot was dismissed following 113 matches in charge.

The 44-year-old Basque manager, who guided Bournemouth to sixth place in his final season at the south-coast club, arrived at Anfield with a 4-2-3-1 that evolves into a 3-2-5 in possession, placing heavy demands on the full-backs to push high and provide width while a double pivot controls the tempo from deep, though the exposed space behind those advancing full-backs represents the most obvious avenue for counter-attacking opponents.

Mohamed Salah’s departure after nine seasons altered Liverpool’s attacking identity fundamentally, with Alexander Isak’s arrival from Newcastle providing a different kind of focal point and Wirtz, in his second campaign at Anfield following last year’s £116-million switch from Bayer Leverkusen, carrying the primary creative burden in the role behind the striker.

Liverpool’s opening draw at Newcastle offered a study in resilience rather than dominance: the Reds conceded twice, with Cody Gakpo drawing them level on both occasions before Szoboszlai settled it from the spot deep into added time, and Iraola will demand a more assured performance in his first home league fixture as Liverpool boss.

Nottingham Forest underwent their fifth managerial change in approximately 12 months when Oliver Glasner was appointed to succeed Nuno Espirito Santo, the Austrian arriving with significant pedigree after guiding Crystal Palace to the Conference League title in May 2026, defeating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the final.

Glasner, who turns 52 on the day before this fixture, has introduced a 3-4-2-1 structure built around a double pivot of Ibrahim Sangare and Xaver Schlager, a midfielder the Austrian worked with previously at Wolfsburg who joined the club on a free transfer, with two attacking midfielders operating in the half-spaces behind a single striker.

The opening home defeat to Leeds, settled by Anton Stach’s direct free-kick, and a subsequent Carabao Cup exit to the same opponents in midweek represent a difficult beginning to Glasner’s tenure at the City Ground, and a trip to Anfield offers little respite before the squad has had meaningful time to absorb the new manager’s methods.

Head-to-Head: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest

The last eight Premier League meetings between these sides have been strikingly competitive, with Liverpool winning four, Forest three and one match ending level, and Forest’s record at Anfield specifically provides the visitors with genuine reason for confidence.

Forest won at Liverpool in September 2024 with a 1-0 victory and returned to produce an even more emphatic 3-0 result at Anfield in November 2025, and they have lost just once in their last four top-flight visits to Merseyside, giving Glasner a clear blueprint for how his side can cause problems on the road.

The historical goal pattern in this fixture also supports a cautious approach: five of the last eight league meetings produced fewer than three goals and only two of those eight saw both teams score, making this one of the tighter and more low-scoring Premier League rivalries of the modern era.

Team News: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest

Iraola faces an extended injury list for his Anfield debut in charge, with Conor Bradley (knee) and Joe Gomez (muscle) sidelined alongside the long-term absentees Hugo Ekitike, Jayden Danns and Giovanni Leoni, while Stefan Bajcetic is absent and expected to leave the club before the end of the summer window.

Federico Chiesa remains a doubt after missing the Newcastle fixture with a fitness complaint, which is the most pressing selection question for Iraola in his forward line ahead of his first home league fixture in charge.

For Forest, Ryan Yates and Nicolo Savona are unavailable, and Morgan Gibbs-White will miss the match with a knee injury, leaving Forest without their most creative attacking midfielder for the trip to Anfield.

Liam Delap, signed from Chelsea for approximately £50 million during the summer window, could feature but having only just completed his move to the club, whether Glasner will hand him an immediate start or ease him in from the bench remains to be seen.

Predicted Line-ups

Star Player watch: Ola Aina vs Florian Wirtz

The most compelling personal battle in this fixture is likely to unfold on Forest’s right flank, where Ola Aina’s combination of defensive discipline and attacking licence will be tested by Cody Gakpo cutting inside from Liverpool’s left and Florian Wirtz looking to drift into the space behind a high defensive line.

Aina, 29, has been one of the Premier League’s most consistent wing-backs since joining Forest, registering 1.75 tackles, 1.47 interceptions and 4.08 clearances per 90 minutes across 18 appearances in 2025/26.

He opened the new season with two shots on goal against Leeds, which just shows his intent to contribute offensively in Glasner’s more expansive system as well as fulfilling his primary defensive duties for the Super Eagles regular.

Wirtz, in his second season at Liverpool following the £116-million move from Bayer Leverkusen, arrives at this fixture looking to impose himself at Anfield for the first time and provide the creative spark Iraola expects from the linchpin of his 4-2-3-1 in the number ten position.

The Managers: Andoni Iraola vs Oliver Glasner

Andoni Iraola built his reputation by transforming Bournemouth from a survival candidate into a consistent top-half Premier League club, and Liverpool identified the 44-year-old Basque coach as the right candidate to restore the kind of organised, high-energy identity the club had under Jurgen Klopp after a difficult final year under Slot’s system.

His tactical hallmark is the 4-2-3-1 built around aggressive pressing from a high defensive line, full-backs who carry significant attacking responsibility in the wide areas and a double pivot designed to control possession and protect against transitions, though the spaces left in behind those advancing full-backs offer a clear point of vulnerability for teams willing to absorb pressure and play quickly on the counter.

Oliver Glasner brings two European trophies to the Forest dugout, the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022 and the Conference League with Crystal Palace just months before his appointment at the City Ground, and the 52-year-old has built a reputation for constructing resilient, well-organised defensive structures that can frustrate tactically superior opponents across a full 90 minutes.

Tactical Preview: How Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest Could Unfold

Iraola’s system places Jeremie Frimpong on the right and Milos Kerkez on the left, both pushing high in possession to create crossing positions and give Wirtz, Ngumoha and Gakpo space to operate centrally in a narrow attacking block, with Gravenberch and Szoboszlai in the double pivot tasked with controlling the tempo and protecting the back four when the press is broken.

The key vulnerability in this structure is the space behind those advancing full-backs, and Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 is specifically designed to exploit that gap on the counter-attack, with Aina and Neco Williams capable of driving forward rapidly when possession is turned over, feeding the two attacking midfielders arriving late into the channel.

Glasner’s double pivot of Sangare and Schlager will be tasked with disrupting the supply line between Liverpool’s midfield and Wirtz, limiting the opportunities for line-breaking passes into the space behind Forest’s compacted block. Then, the wing-backs are expected to track back diligently to maintain a defensive shape that does not stretch under sustained Anfield pressure.

Liam Delap’s aerial presence, if he starts, gives Forest a direct route out of their own half that does not depend on winning midfield duels cleanly, offering a more straightforward mechanism for relieving pressure and drawing Liverpool’s centre-backs higher up the pitch if the home side’s high line becomes exposed to a flick-on.

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest: Prediction and Betting Tips

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Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest Score Prediction