Sutton’s Liverpool prediction comes with warning about Forest

Liverpool’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest comes with the usual City Ground nerves, and Chris Sutton has now made his prediction for Arne Slot’s side ahead of Sunday’s 2pm kick-off.

The BBC Sport pundit has backed us to edge it, but Sutton’s reasoning leans heavily on Forest’s issues in front of goal and the idea that Vitor Pereira will prioritise containment in his first league match in charge.

He wrote: “We know Pereira will try to keep things tight, but Forest’s biggest issue throughout this campaign has been scoring goals and I am not sure they will be able to get at Liverpool.”

The former striker then compared the task to our recent league win at Sunderland, before landing on a narrow scoreline.

The 52-year-old added: “Arne Slot’s side became the first team to win at the Stadium of Light when they edged out Sunderland in their last league game, and I can see a similar outcome here. Sutton’s prediction: 0-1”

Chris Sutton’s Liverpool prediction and what it says about Forest

Sutton’s angle is that Forest’s fourth managerial change of the season is likely to lead to a pragmatic approach, which makes sense given the way Morgan Gibbs-White spoke about “identity” after the Europa League win at Fenerbahce and how quickly focus turns to us.

That matters for Liverpool because Pereira’s first league game is rarely the kind of match where patterns are obvious, and Slot has already hinted that it is difficult to prepare when personnel and principles can shift quickly.

Opta’s numbers also sit in the background here, because the supercomputer forecast has us as slight favourites at the City Ground, even if the history of this fixture makes it feel anything but comfortable.

Liverpool’s recent record against Forest shows why this feels awkward

Even with Sutton backing Slot’s men, our recent meetings with Forest explain why plenty of us will see this as a tight afternoon, especially away from Anfield where the margins have often been small.

Here are our last eight results against Nottingham Forest.

That run shows two things at once, because we have had some strong Anfield days against Forest, but we have also found the City Ground a place where one goal can decide everything.

If Sutton is right and this finishes 1-0, Liverpool will happily take it in a season where points are the currency, particularly with Arsenal and Manchester City setting the pace above us and the Champions League chase still tight behind them.

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