Nottingham Forest welcome Arsenal to the City Ground at 17:30 in the seventh round of the Premier League, with the table giving the afternoon a rather different meaning for each side. Forest are trying to haul themselves clear of trouble; Arsenal need the points to remain in touch with an unforgiving Manchester City.
Forest still seeking a home lift
The home side begin the weekend in 18th place after taking five points from their first six league matches. One win, two draws and three defeats have left Oliver Glasner’s team needing a result, particularly in front of their own supporters.
- Forest have yet to win at the City Ground in the league this season.
- They opened their home campaign with a 1-0 defeat against Leeds.
- A goalless draw with Tottenham followed.
- Their most recent home outing ended in a 1-0 loss to Coventry.
There is no disguising the size of the task. Arsenal arrive with far greater momentum, though Forest will know that a tight game at the City Ground can make even the polished visitors work for their afternoon.
Arsenal chasing City despite one slip
Mikel Arteta’s side have won five of their six Premier League fixtures, their only reverse coming in a 3-0 defeat at Brighton. Apart from that stumble at the Amex, Arsenal’s start has been strong enough to keep them on Manchester City’s heels.
They had to dig in for a 2-1 comeback victory over Leeds in their latest league match, a reminder that the points have not all come with a ribbon attached. Their away form has been particularly tidy, with two wins and two clean sheets so far.
- Arsenal won 2-0 at Aston Villa.
- They also beat Sunderland 1-0 on the road.
- The defeat at Brighton remains their sole league loss after six matches.
A demanding European week around the fixture
This trip to Nottingham falls between Champions League commitments for Arsenal. Arteta’s players beat Lille 3-0 in their most recent European outing, but the next assignment is a far more imposing journey to Munich to face Bayern.
That makes squad management part of the wider calculation, although the league position leaves Arsenal little room to treat a match against a side in the bottom three as anything other than essential business. Forest, meanwhile, have the chance to turn the City Ground from a difficult place to visit in theory into one in practice.
