Liverpool – Nottingham Forest

The opponents won’t be too wasteful with goals

Last year's summer transfer window, Liverpool greeted as English champions and planned to strengthen with an eye on the European football crown. Having spent half a billion euros on new players, Arne Slot immediately faced the problem of integrating them into the Merseysiders' well-tuned mechanisms. The result is known. Instead of the planned titles in the Premier League and the Champions League, Liverpool, at the end of last season, frantically fought for the last Premier League berth into the elite European tournament, and the Dutch coach with the Reds no longer works. Andoni Iraola was appointed Liverpool's coach a couple of months ago, and in the transfer market the Merseysiders have been quite restrained. As free agents, the Reds saw Ibrahima Konate, Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson leave, and Curtis Jones was sold to Manchester City for 30 million euros. There is no talk of half-a-billion reinforcements anymore. For a total sum of about 100 million euros, Jeremie Jaque and Victor Munoz were signed, Ronald Araújo was loaned. Liverpool's start to the season was quite difficult. On the field at Newcastle, the Reds were considered favorites, but going into stoppage time of the second half they were behind on the score. Fortunately, Liverpool earned a penalty, which Dominik Szoboszlai converted in the 90+9th minute. The 2-2 scoreline against the summer-rebuilt opponent can be interpreted in two ways, but it certainly obliges Iraola and his players to prepare for the Nottingham Forest match with only a win in mind. The visitors last season mocked the entire football world. In a year, four coaches managed them. All four failed to cope with the tasks, according to the club's Greek president. In the off-season Nottingham Forest appointed Oliver Glasner, attracted by the ambition of this group. Nottingham Forest's squad was reinforced by Javier Schlager, Osman Diomande, and Liam Delap, who had not settled at Chelsea. Among the losses compared to the previous season, only the departure of the England national team's main midfielder Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for 135 million euros. In the last week, Nottingham Forest managed to lose at home to Leeds twice in different competitions. At Anfield, Nottingham Forest will be fully focused on defense, which is unlikely to yield many goals.