Nottingham Forest will be looking to continue their winning start in the Premier League this weekend as they take a trip to Merseyside to face Everton.
Summer signing Taiwo Awoniyi got off the mark for Forest at the City Ground last weekend, scoring the opening goal in a 2-1 win over West Ham United. It was the first win of the season for Steve Cooper's side after losing their league opener 2-0 to Newcastle United. It’s been a difficult start for Saturday's opposition, with the Toffees one of three clubs to have lost their opening two fixtures.
Cooper has been handed a selection boost ahead of the clash, with new signings Emmanuel Dennis, Remu Freuler and Morgan Gibbs-White expected to make the squad this weekend.
READ MORE: Frank Lampard makes Nottingham Forest prediction amid 'difficult' Everton plan
READ MORE: Neal Maupay transfer latest as update emerges on Nottingham Forest target
So, how could Forest fare in their clash with Everton? We simulated the game to try and find out.
Everton vs Nottingham Forest score predicted by simulation
To run this simulation, we used FIFA 22, updating the squads with the latest transfers made in this window. Both sides lined up in their 2021/22 kits as FIFA 22 does not provide the 2022/23 ones.
We predict that the Toffees will line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Pickford; Holgate, Coady, Tarkowski; Patterson, Doucoure, Onana, Mykolenko; McNeil, Gordon, Gray.
We predict that Nottingham Forest will line up in a 3-4-1-2 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Henderson; Worrall, Niakhate, McKenna; Williams, O'Brien, Mangala, Toffolo; Lingard, Awoiniyi, Johnson.
It was an even start at Goodison Park, with the hosts looking slightly more dangerous in attack, but Forest had their moments despite there being no major chances for either team. In fact, the game looked set to go into the break at 0-0, but Anthony Gordon scored a fantastic long-range effort on 45 minutes to send the Toffees into the lead.
Forest came out in the second half looking bright, and some brilliant pressing from Brennan Johnson led to Forest grabbing the equaliser. Johnson won the ball off Conor Coady on the halfway line before threading Awoniyi through on goal. The striker had all the time in the world, and he powered his shot past Jordan Pickford at the near post to draw the game level.
After the equaliser, Cooper introduced Gibbs-White and Freuler, and the latter made his impact known, scoring the winner in the 90th minute of the game.
Neco Williams played a give-and-go with Orel Mangala outside the box before cutting inside, with the Welsh defender playing a great ball through to the bursting run of Freuler. The Swiss international wasn't tracked, and after one touch, the 30-year-old curled his effort into the bottom corner to confirm three points for Cooper's side.
Full-time: Everton 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts Nottingham Forest could fight back from one goal down to beat Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park on Saturday. New signing Freuler could make the impact needed off the bench to win the game and make it two wins from two for Cooper's side.
What do you think the score could be on Sunday afternoon? Let us know in the comments below!
READ NEXT:
Club reject Nottingham Forest transfer offer for £55m Arsenal target
Nottingham Forest learn Keinan Davis transfer update amid Aston Villa talk
Nottingham Forest snubbed Championship transfer after talks
Click here for all the latest Nottingham Forest news from Nottinghamshire Live
Nottingham Forest transfer claim dismissed as 'fake news' by club chief
