Nottingham Forest v Liverpool predictions: Reds to keep grinding out the wins

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Nottingham Forest v Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 12.30pm

Best bets

Liverpool & under 3.5 goals
2pts 13-10 bet365

Virgil van Dijk first goalscorer
1pt each-way 20-1bet365

Team news

Nottingham Forest
Harry Toffolo joins Omar Richards and Moussa Niakhate on the sidelines. Lewis O'Brien is unlikely to be involved and Renan Lodi is a major doubt.

Liverpool
Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, Arthur Melo, Naby Keita, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota are all out.

Match preview

Liverpool have enjoyed a week of doing enough to win tight, tense affairs and can complete a hat-trick of nail-biters at the City Ground.

Six days after pipping Manchester City 1-0 – City had a goal disallowed – and three days after seeing off West Ham by the same scoreline – the Hammers missed a penalty – Jurgen Klopp's men can land the treble with another low-scoring win, this time to take care of struggling Nottingham Forest.

When the Reds get it right they can still be remarkable - they have smashed nine past Bournemouth and seven past Rangers this season.

But the general sense is that the swagger has departed Anfield for the moment. The team are cursed with injuries and look tired, and Forest, for all their poor results, aren't exactly being blown away by anyone.

Liverpool are short enough, but combining an away win with under 3.5 goals at odds-against looks a worthwhile wager.

Forest, who came up with high hopes, are really floundering without a win in nine league games.

Steve Cooper has had to change his approach from positive to damage limitation in a bid to stop the bleeding.

And Forest's last three matches – solid draws with Villa and Brighton either side of a luckless loss at Wolves in a terrible game – suggest they are becoming harder to break down.

In the 0-0 draw with Brighton they defended ever so resolutely and can play the "away team" role again on Saturday lunchtime as Liverpool pin them back for long periods.

Liverpool are facing a tough schedule and they are just about working their way through it.

This will be their seventh game in 21 days, their third game in less than a week and several of their players look out on their feet.

Unfortunately for Klopp, with injuries biting at the back and in attack, he can't shuffle his pack too much and that could easily result in another more workmanlike performance, although their added class in key areas should be enough for them to get up.

Forest have conceded more goals from set-pieces than any other team this season while Liverpool are the second-most effective at scoring from them. It looks just the occasion for Virgil van Dijk, a more regular scorer nowadays with one each this term for Liverpool and Netherlands, to land a first-scorer bet.