Everton is having a bad season so far, from their poor form in the league to suffering a points deduction earlier in the season for breaching FFP guidelines, the Toffees are enduring a difficult PL campaign this season. Nottingham Forest finds themselves hovering just above relegation waters in the Premier League hence, they will be desperate for an upturn in fortunes to enable them to navigate their way to safety.
Everton acquired the services of new talents to bolster their ranks, signing Beto from Italian club side Udinese Calcio, Chermiti from Sporting CP, Arnaut Danjuma on loan from Villarreal, and Ashley Young and Jack Harrison from Aston Villa and Leeds United respectively on free transfers.
The Toffees also let go of some notable names over the summer with the likes of Moise Kean leaving for Serie A giants Juventus, Nigerian midfielder Alex Iwobi joining Fulham, and Demarai Gray crossing continents to join Al-Ettifaq of Saudi Arabia. Neal Maupay and Mason Holgate sealed loan moves away to Brentford and Southampton respectively while Tom Davies, Asmir Begovic, and Yerry Mina all departed for Sheffield United, QPR, and Fiorentina respectively on free transfers.
Nottingham Forest conducted impressive business during the transfer window in a bid to strengthen their squad. They signed Ibrahim Sangare from PSV Eindhoven, Anthony Elanga from Premier League rivals Manchester United, Chris Wood from Newcastle, Andrew Omobamidele from Norwich, Murillo from Corinthians, Nicolas Dominguez from Bologna, Gk Matt Turner from Arsenal, Odysseas Vlachodimos from Benfica and Callum Hudson-Odoi from Chelsea. Loanees include Nuno Tavares from Arsenal, Giovanni Reyna from Borussia Dortmund, Andrey Santos from Chelsea, Gonzalo Montiel from Sevilla, Divock Origi from AC Milan, and Rodrigo Riberio from Sporting CP while Ola Aina joined from Torino on a free transfer.
Departures from the Forest ranks include Brennan Johnson who joined Tottenham Hotspur, Sam Surridge to Nashville, Gustavo Scarpa to Atletico-MG, Braian Ojeda to Salt Lake, Richie Laryea to Toronto, Mohamed Dräger to FC Basel and Serge Aurier to Galatasaray. Orel Mangala and Joe Warall sealed loan moves to Olympique Lyon and Besiktas respectively.
Everton have not got going this season in the Premier League. The Merseyside outfit has been plagued by both on-field and off-field challenges and they seem to be folding underneath all the issues. The Toffees suffered a points deduction earlier in the season as a penalty for breaching Financial Fair Play rules, however, their form on the pitch has done little to help their cause. They occupy 16th place on the PL table with 25 points from 28 games. Sean Dyche’s men have been defensively impressive at times this season but their profligacy in front of goal may eventually cost them their premier league status.
The Toffees are winless in their last five Premier League matches, only managing two draws and losing the other three matches. This disappointing run of results started against PL champions Man City in a 2-0 defeat, after which they played out back-to-back 1-1 draws against Crystal Palace and Brighton before suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of West Ham and Man United respectively.
Nottingham Forest have had a really poor season in the Premier League so far. A consistent poor run of results earlier in the season prompted a change in the dugout for the east midlands outfit, with the Forest hierarchy deciding to relieve Steve Cooper of his managerial duties and handing the reins to former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo. However, the change is yet to spark an upturn in the fortune of the club. Forest sit in 17th position with 24 points, just three points above Luton Town in 18th having played one more game.
Their form in recent weeks is a testament to their poor season as they have only managed to take three points from the last fifteen that have been available to them. Their only victory in this period came in a 2-0 triumph over West Ham United at the City Ground. Forest suffered defeats at the hands of Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Brighton respectively. Despite visible improvements in their pattern of play since appointing Nuno, Forest has just been unable to grind out the much-needed results.
Head-to-head records show that Everton and Nottingham Forest have played just 3 matches between them, with Everton winning one match and drawing the other two. The Toffees have scored 4 goals while Forest have scored 3 goals.
Match tickets
The epic match at Goodison Park in Liverpool kicks off on Saturday, 20th of April 2024 at 15:00 GMT.
The 39,572-capacity stadium will host this relegation six-pointer.
Getting tickets for the Everton vs Nottingham Forest tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Beto seems to be favored in attack at the moment and Sean Dyche will be expecting a performance from the Portuguese. Injury absentees for Everton include Idrissa Gana Gueye (groin), Dele Alli (hip), and Arnaut Danjuma (leg).
Everton: Pickford, Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski, Godfrey, Harrison, Garner, Onana, McNeil, Doucouré, Beto
Injury concerns for Forest include Ola Aina (knock), Nuno Tavares (knock), Giovanni Reyna (knock).
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Toffolo, Murillo, Omobamidele, Williams, Dominguez, Danilo, Yates, Gibbs-White, Wood, Origi
Prediction
Everton adopt a direct pattern of play, launching long balls forward from their goalkeeper into their center-forward and hoping to progress quickly into dangerous positions in the opposition box from such situations while Nottingham Forest will look to utilize the speed and power of their widemen up front in counter-attacking situations.
The Toffees have been poor on home soil this season but we expect them to take something from this match against one of their rivals for survival.
Everton 2-2 Nottingham Forest