Nottingham Forest aim to continue their outstanding form on Sunday afternoon when they host bottom of the table Southampton in the Premier League.
The Midlands side have been the surprise success story of the current season, sitting inside the top four after mid-season. Unbeaten since losing to Manchester City in early December, Nuno Espirito Santo's men secured another impressive result midweek, picking up a point from the visit of table leaders Liverpool at The City Ground.
Southampton have been as awful as Forest have been this season and are currently mired at the bottom of the table. Ten points adrift of safety after suffering 17 defeats in 21 games, the division's bottom scorers look destined for relegation, with new manager Ivan Juric unable to turn the tide.
Here it is 90 minutes preview of forest vs. Southampton.
Record between Nottingham Forest and Southampton (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Nottingham Forest |
Southampton |
|---|---|
|
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Liverpool – 14/01/25 |
Man Utd 3-1 Southampton – 16/01/25 |
|
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Luton – 11/01/25 |
Southampton 3-0 Swansea – 12/01/25 |
|
Wolves 0-3 Nottingham Forest – 06/01/25 |
Southampton 0-5 Brentford – 04/01/25 |
|
Everton 0-2 Nottingham Forest – 29/12/24 |
Crystal Palace 2-1 Southampton – 29/12/24 |
|
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Tottenham – 26/12/24 |
Southampton 0-1 West Ham – 26/12/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Not televised – live radio commentary on BBC Radio Nottingham and BBC Radio Solent |
|
United States |
peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 3 Canada |
The key to Forest's success this season has been their ability to keep their first teams fit and firing, with Ibrahim Sangare the only absentee ahead of the weekend. The defensive midfielder was joined by Danilo in the treatment room, but the Brazilian returned from a broken leg last weekend. FA Cup win over Luton Town.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo is unlikely to make many changes from the midweek draw with Liverpool as his side will have five days to recover, with Chris Wood once again on the scoresheet as scored his 13th Premier League goal of the season.
Nottingham Forest predicted formation against Southampton (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Southampton will be sweating on the fitness of young midfielder Tyler Dibling, who was withdrawn just after the hour mark against Manchester United in midweek with an ankle injury. It will be evaluated before the start.
Gavin Bazunu is closing in on a return to the first team after being injured since April, but is unlikely to replace Aaron Ramsdale any time soon. Juan Larios and Ross Stewart are long-term absentees for the Saints, while defender Jack Stephens is out with a ground injury.
Southampton predicted formation against Nottingham Forest (3-4-2-1): Ramsdale; Wood, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis; Sugawara, Downes, Aribo, Walker-Peters; Fernandes, Sulejman; Armstrong.
There are unlikely to be any surprises at The City Ground on Sunday, with Forest looking to see off Southampton with relative ease. Tricky Trees have been solid defensively this season and clinical at the other end of the pitch, with victory against Saints looking inevitable.
Southampton have scored just 13 times in the Premier League this season and could be without the talented Dibling for the trip north. Juric has struggled to make drastic improvements in a squad lacking in quality and they are unlikely to change their fortunes on Sunday.