Both clubs are enjoying a streak of success. Nottingham Forest have picked up at least two wins, and they've surged into the Champions League spots. To maintain their position, they must keep winning. Newcastle United also need victories, as despite their win in the last round, they remain in the lower half of the table.
Only Liverpool (six) have conceded fewer goals than Nottingham Forest (seven). A significant contributor to their climb to third place is the straightforward scoring prowess of striker Chris Wood. The New Zealand forward has netted eight goals, more than all of his teammates combined (six). During their unbeaten four-match run, he scored five of their eight goals, finding the net in each fixture. While he's on the pitch, he poses a constant threat to the opposition. Earlier in the season, Nottingham Forest were minimalist, playing out results like 1:0 or 1:1, but now they've secured wins like 3:1 (against Leicester City) and 3:0 (against West Ham United).
Newcastle United, on the other hand, continue to adhere to 1:0 scorelines and similar margins. They brought Arsenal into their fold last Saturday (1:0). Despite Arsenal's attempts to breach Nick Pope's goal, they were unsuccessful. The visitors can only blame themselves, with just one shot on target from 10 attempts. Arsenal's 1.05 xG was realistically weaker than Newcastle's 0.53 xG with 9(4) shots. Alexander Isak, scoring for the third consecutive game, sealed the win. He is as much a target man as Wood but offers a lighter presence.
Nottingham Forest are more reliant on their central striker, but shutting him down is nearly impossible. Considering Newcastle's defensive injuries (Sven Botman, Kieran Trippier) and their record of just one away win from five attempts against the league's most conceding team—Wolverhampton—not all points may be lost for Nottingham Forest. In the current League Cup, the teams drew 1:1 in Nottingham, so a double chance for Nottingham Forest seems reasonable.
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Nuno Espírito Santo
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coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
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|||
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Matz Sels
|
gk. | 10 | -7 |
|
Carlos Miguel
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
|
Murillo
|
df. | 10 | 0 |
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Ola Aina
|
df. | 10 | 1 |
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Neco Williams
|
df. | 9 | 0 |
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Nikola Milenković
|
df. | 9 | 0 |
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Álex Moreno
|
df. | 7 | 0 |
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Morato
|
df. | 5 | 0 |
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Willy Boly
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
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Harry Toffolo
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Andrew Omobamidele
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
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Joe Worrall
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
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Elliot Anderson
|
mf. | 10 | 0 |
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Ryan Yates
|
mf. | 10 | 1 |
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Nicolás Domínguez
|
mf. | 8 | 0 |
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Morgan Gibbs-White
|
mf. | 7 | 1 |
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James Ward-Prowse
|
mf. | 4 | 0 |
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Ibrahim Sangaré
|
mf. | 3 | 0 |
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Danilo dos Santos de Oliveira
|
mf. | 1 | 0 |
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Jonjo Shelvey
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
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Anthony Elanga
|
fw. | 10 | 0 |
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Callum Hudson-Odoi
|
fw. | 10 | 2 |
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Chris Wood
|
fw. | 10 | 8 |
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Jota Silva
|
fw. | 9 | 0 |
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Taiwo Awoniyi
|
fw. | 7 | 0 |
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Ramón Sosa
|
fw. | 6 | 1 |
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Eric da Silva Moreira
|
fw. | 1 | 0 |
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Alex Mighten
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
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Emmanuel Dennis
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
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Eddie Howe
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coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
In squad
|
|||
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Nick Pope
|
gk. | 10 | -10 |
|
Martin Dúbravka
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
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Odysseas Vlachodimos
|
gk. | 0 | 0 |
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Dan Burn
|
df. | 10 | 0 |
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Lewis Hall
|
df. | 10 | 0 |
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Valentino Livramento
|
df. | 10 | 0 |
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Fabian Schär
|
df. | 8 | 1 |
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Lloyd Kelly
|
df. | 7 | 0 |
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Kieran Trippier
|
df. | 5 | 0 |
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Alex Murphy
|
df. | 3 | 0 |
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Emil Krafth
|
df. | 3 | 0 |
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Jamaal Lascelles
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
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Sven Botman
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
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Bruno Guimaraes
|
mf. | 10 | 0 |
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Anthony Gordon
|
mf. | 9 | 2 |
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Sean Longstaff
|
mf. | 9 | 0 |
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Joseph Willock
|
mf. | 8 | 0 |
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Sandro Tonali
|
mf. | 8 | 0 |
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Isaac Hayden
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
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Harvey Barnes
|
fw. | 10 | 3 |
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Joelinton
|
fw. | 10 | 1 |
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Alexander Isak
|
fw. | 8 | 3 |
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Jacob Murphy
|
fw. | 6 | 0 |
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Miguel Almirón
|
fw. | 5 | 0 |
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William Osula
|
fw. | 3 | 0 |
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Callum Wilson
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
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Garang Kuol
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
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