This article is part of our Game Previews series.
Nottingham Forest and Arsenal collide Wednesday at the City Ground for their 107th all-time encounter.
Prior to Tuesday's fixtures, Nottingham Forest sat third in the Premier League on 47 points, six points behind second-place Arsenal. The Gunners enter the fixture 11 points off the pace of league leaders Liverpool. In their quest to return to European competition, Forest hold a three-point edge over fourth-place Manchester City and fifth-place Newcastle.
Premier League Predicted & Confirmed Lineups
Premier League Schedule and Fixture Difficulty Ranker
HEAD TO HEAD
Nottingham Forest and Arsenal have met on 106 occasions, dating back to 1904 when Arsenal, then known as Woolwich Arsenal, fell to Nottingham Forest in a 3-0 League Division One matchup.
Back in Gameweek 12, Arsenal easily defeated Forest at the Emirates behind goals from Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey and Ethan Nwaneri.
Since Forest's return to the Premier League in the 2022/2023 season, Arsenal have won four out of five meetings.
Arsenal lead the all-time series, winning 55 times and drawing on 29 occasions.
ODDS
Premier League Odds Comparisons
Moneyline Odds
DraftKings: NFO +300 Draw +245, ARS -105 (PROMO CODE)
FanDuel: NFO +290 Draw +240, ARS -105 (PROMO CODE)
BetMGM: NFO +290 Draw +240, ARS -102 (BONUS CODE)
Bet365: NFO +290 Draw +260, ARS -106 (BONUS CODE)
RECENT FORM
Nottingham Forest (LLWWL) will attempt to tighten their defensive approach after leaking eight goals over their last three fixtures which included a frenetic 4-3 loss to Newcastle in their most recent league clash.
Arsenal (LWLWW) have lost two of their last four matches, including a 2-0 Carabao Cup semifinal defeat to Newcastle and a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United in their most recent Premier League fixture.
FORMATIONS
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has most commonly deployed a 4-2-3-1 during the club's unexpected, high-flying campaign. Forest defend in numbers, prioritizing defensive solidity. When they reclaim possession, Santo's men will look to use their speed on the flank to transition into the attack quickly.
Arteta continues to deploy a 4-3-3 formation with tweaks made depending on players. When in possession in the opponent's final third, look for the Gunners to push bodies forward and create a 3-2-5 where a full-back joins the midfield and a midfielder will push forward in support of the attack. When out of possession, they protect their goal by receding into a conventional 4-2-3-1 look.
LINEUP NOTES & INJURY NEWS
Nottingham Forest
Forest enter the fixture at near full health with the entire squad at Santo's disposal for selection.
Matz Sels has started in net for every Nottingham Forest league fixture this season. He's likely to be supported by Forest's most common pairing in central defense, Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic. In the full-back roles, Santo encourages Neco Williams and Ola Aina to pick their moments to join the attack and overlap with Forest's wingers down the flanks.
Nicolas Dominguez and Elliot Anderson were part of the midfield double-pivot that was overrun by Newcastle in Forest's most recent league defeat. Each received a yellow card during the match and were replaced by Ryan Yates and Ibrahim Sangare, respectively. If Santo opts to make a change in the holding midfield role, expect Yates to get the first crack at the starting XI or for Danilo to return to the squad after missing over the weekend.
Forest's attack is spearheaded by Chris Wood whose 18 goals are the fourth most in the Premier League. Wood is most often supported by Morgan Gibbs-White in the No. 10 role and agile wingers Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi on the wings. Over their last five league matchups, the attacking quartet has combined for four goals despite Hudson-Odoi missing a majority of that time due to injury.
Arsenal
The Gunners enter the fixture looking for creative solutions to jumpstart a depleted attacking unit.
The solidity of Arsenal's defensive unit falls upon the broad shoulders of the partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba in central defense. Expect the duo to be the lynchpin for Arsenal in their quest to contain the Forest attack. With Myles Lewis-Skelly (suspension) unavailable, Arteta's selections in the full-back roles become more straightforward, though recently returned Ben White could sneak his way back into the XI at some point.
Jurrien Timber is likely to be included on the right side of the backline. Flanking the central defenders on the left, anticipate the manager opting for Riccardo Calafiori who started in Arsenal's last Premier League tilt, a 1-0 loss to West Ham.
The triumvirate of Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Thomas Partey have been called upon to operate the Gunners midfield in their last four fixtures. The pairing allows Arteta flexibility within his formation as Rice is able to play a holding or more advanced role, while Partey has, at times, deputized at right full-back. Arsenal will look to their, arguably, most talented player in Odegaard to impress his creative qualities, as Arsenal look to overcome the attrition in their attacking ranks. Given the compressed run of fixtures, veteran Jorginho is an option to rotate into the midfield starting XI.
Arsenal's attack is short on options with each of the following squad members ruled out: Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Kai Havertz (hamstring), Gabriel Martinelli (hamstring) and Gabriel Jesus (knee). Given the widespread injuries, Arteta opted to deploy Mikel Merino in a false-nine role versus West Ham with Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri operating on the wings. Raheem Sterling has appeared in each of the Gunners' last four fixtures (two starts) and is likely to make an appearance Wednesday, regardless of whether his name is included in the starting XI.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chris Wood came off the bench in the reverse fixture earlier this season and did not register a shot attempt. Expect Wood to erase all memory of that performance Wednesday and find the space between Arsenal's formidable center-back pairing. Over his last five appearances (four starts) across all competitions, the striker has attempted nine shots (seven on target), scored four goals and assisted once.
Leandro Trossard has the ability to deliver crosses from the wide areas and also cut inside to trouble the goalkeeper, and he will be counted upon to catalyze the Gunners attacking unit. As the Nottingham Forest full-backs look to create overlapping runs with their wingers while in attack, expect Trossard to be prepared to fill the space behind the Forest backline in the vacated wide areas.
BETTING PICKS & PREDICTION
Man of the Match: Martin Odegaard
After a slow start and injury-plagued beginning to the season, Odegaard appears to be rising to the occasion in Arsenal's time of need. Over this last five starts, the midfield virtuoso has created 14 chances and scored twice. With Forest leaking goals and facing uncertain selection in the holding midfield positions, expect the world class Odegaard to leave his imprint on the fixture with at least one goal contribution.
Result: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Arsenal
UPCOMING EPL FIXTURES
Nottingham Forest: March 8 vs. Manchester City
Arsenal: March 9 at Manchester United
